The ETFs That Beat the S&P 500 and Nasdaq So Far in 2026
Of the 80 popular, unleveraged US-listed ETFs we checked, oil funds beat the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq by the widest margin so far in 2026. The Brent oil fund BNO rose 137.3% from the December 31, 2025 close to the October 16, 2026 close, against 11.9% for the S&P 500 index.
The bar to beat: over the same period the S&P 500 index rose 11.9% and the Nasdaq Composite 12.5%, as reported by AP. Of the 76 funds other than SPY, VOO, QQQ and QQQM, 24 beat both. Every figure here is a price change, dividends excluded, as of the October 16 close.
Oil funds hold futures, not barrels. From December 31 to October 14, the US oil fund USO rose 122%, while the EIA's WTI spot price rose 78%, from $57.26 to $101.91. The Energy Information Administration says attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers around the Middle East pushed prices up. Brent averaged $114 a barrel in September.
Chip and Asia funds came next. The Taiwan fund EWT rose 67.3%, and 73% of it is information technology, according to iShares as of October 15. The chip fund SOXX rose 63.8% and the South Korea fund EWY 54.7%, below their June highs (close) of 117.5% and 125.5%.
Some popular funds lost money: a gold fund, GLD, fell 3.6%, a bitcoin fund, IBIT, 7.0%, a silver fund, SLV, 20.0%, and the China internet fund KWEB 28.3%, the lowest of the 80.
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