What the ETF? Which ‘lucky dozen’ ETFs managed to outperform amidst Omicron fears?

Despite yesterday’s rebound the ASX is still 1% lower than a week ago thanks to global fears about the Omicron variant of COVID-19, but a dozen ETFs defied the trend.

In the past week the top fund is VanEck Vectors China New Economy ETF (ASX:CNEW) which tracks the performance of the top 50 companies listed in mainland China.

Its top two holdings are Ping An Insurance and local liquor giant Kweichow Moutai — both making up over 10 per cent each.

While it has fluctuated this year in conjunction with diplomatic tensions between Australia and China, it is in positive territory in the past year and has nearly doubled in the last five years.

The next two are the SPDR S&P®/ASX 200 Resources Fund (ASX:OZR) and the BetaShares Australian Resources Sector ETF (ASX:QPR) which track the top resources stocks in Australia.

The resources sector has proved relatively resistant to the market jitters this week, sitting in slightly positive territory compared to a week ago.

Another performer of note was the BetaShares Managed Risk Global Share Fund (ASX:WLRD).

This fund invests in 1,500 global shares and monitors share market volatility, applying a “handbrake” to reduce the impact of fluctuations by selling equity index futures contracts.

Top yearly performers

Despite the dour week for ASX ETFs amidst fears about the Omicron variant, the sector is still in a positive shape with 20 ETFs up 20% or more in the last 12 months.

BetaShares’ Geared US Equities (ASX:GGUS) is still on top with a 64% gain in 12 months.

The majority of the other ETFs have a global focus, particularly on US shares.

But there are a handful with an ESG focus and a couple of sector specific funds – ETF Securities’ Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX:ACDC) and BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK).