ETF Performance: February's Best And Worst

2022 has been a turbulent year for a variety of assets and the broader exchanges—and, by extension, for the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track them. Throughout the first two months of the year, investors faced several challenges, including high inflation, the Fed’s tightening of asset purchases, and the probability of rising interest rates. 

However, Russia’s military attack on Ukraine last week and accelerating crude oil have prices added a new set of jitters for Wall Street to digest in February.

Below, we note those ETFs that were either clear winners or obvious losers in February. Our list offers just a glimpse of monthly performances by some of the many exchange-traded funds listed in the US and excludes leveraged and inverse ETFs.

These funds could inspire readers to put together long-term diversified portfolios within their risk/return parameters. We’ve covered a large number of these funds previously, and plan to discuss others in the future.

3 ETFs Tracking 3 Major US Indices

Before we move on to best- and worst-performing ETFs, let’s look at funds that provide exposure to three bellwether U.S. indices—the Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. 

SPDR® Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) tracks the Dow Jones: it was down 3.34% for the month of February.

DIA Weekly Chart

SPDR® S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY), tracks the S&P 500 Index: down 2.9% in February. 

SPY Weekly Chart

Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) tracks the NASDAQ 100 Index: down 4.8% in February.

QQQ Weekly Chart

33 Winning ETFs in February:

SPDR® S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSE:XME): up 26.1% in February

XME Weekly Chart

Teucrium Wheat Fund (NYSE:WEAT): up 20.9% 

Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA): up 16.7%

VanEck Steel ETF (NYSE:SLX): up 14.8% 

Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSE:COPX): up 13.8% 

VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX): up 13.7%

iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (NYSE:PICK): up 12.2%

First Trust Materials AlphaDEX® Fund (NYSE:FXZ): up 10.7% 

iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:ITA): up 10.6% 

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (NASDAQ:ICLN): up 10.4% 

VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE:OIH): up 9.8%

Direxion Hydrogen ETF (NYSE:HJEN): up 9.6% 

Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN): up 9.1% 

VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (NYSE:REMX): up 9% 

VanEck Environmental Services ETF (NYSE:EVX): up 8.5% 

John Hancock Multifactor Energy ETF (NYSE:JHME): up 7.9% 

Global X Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:BUG): up 7.8% 

U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF (NYSE:SEA): up 6.7% 

FlexShares Morningstar® Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund (NYSE:GUNR): up 6.5% 

Invesco DWA Basic Materials Momentum ETF (NASDAQ:PYZ): up 6.1% 

SPDR® Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD): up 6.1%

SPDR® S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (NYSE:XHE): up 5.6%

iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (NYSE:EIDO): up 4.9%

WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund (NASDAQ:WCBR): up 4.5% 

Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (NYSE:ARGT): up 4.42%

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSE:EZA): up 3.8% 

VanEck Agribusiness ETF (NYSE:MOO): up 3.2%

BlueStar Israel Technology ETF (NYSE:ITEQ): up 3.1%

Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF (NYSE:PEJ): up 3% 

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (NYSE:IJS): up 2.2%

Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Growth ETF (NYSE:RFG): up 2.1%

Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSE:BLOK): up 1.5%

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM): up 1%

24 Losing ETFs in February:

iShares MSCI Russia ETF (NYSE:ERUS): down 53.7% in February

ERUS Weekly Chart

First Trust Dow Jones International Internet ETF (NASDAQ:FDNI): down 15.8% 

Global X Social Media ETF (NASDAQ:SOCL): down 10.6% 

SoFi Gig Economy ETF (NASDAQ:GIGE): down 10.3% 

Global X Cloud Computing ETF (NASDAQ:CLOU): down 9.2% 

Amplify Online Retail ETF (NYSE:IBUY): down 7.7%

Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (NASDAQ:AIQ): down 7%

Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF (NYSE:CHIR): down 6.4% 

ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW): down 6.4%

Renaissance International IPO ETF (NYSE:IPOS): down 6.2%

iShares Global Consumer Discretionary ETF (NYSE:RXI): down 6.1% 

Ecofin Global Water ESG Fund (NYSE:EBLU): down 5.7% 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund (NASDAQ:EMCB): down 5.6%  

Amplify High Income ETF (NYSE:YYY): down 5.4% 

Invesco Preferred ETF (NYSE:PGX): down 4.5%

Global X MSCI Nigeria ETF (NYSE:NGE): down 4.3% 

KraneShares Asia Pacific High Income Bond ETF (NYSE:KHYB): down 3.3%

iShares Global Green Bond ETF (NASDAQ:BGRN): down 2.1%   

Fidelity® Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE:FCOR): down 2.1%

KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index (NYSE:KARS): down 2.7%

Teucrium Sugar Fund (NYSE:CANE): down 1.4% 

RiverFront Strategic Income Fund (NYSE:RIGS): down 1.1%

Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (NYSE:GYLD): down 1% 

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSE:LIT): down 0.3%