Investors seemed to regain their appetite for American shares in April. Not only did three S&P 500 trackers feature among the 10 exchange-traded funds most bought by Fidelity customers last month but three other popular ETFs were dominated by US shares, even though they invest around the world.
The three trackers in the top 10 that follow the S&P 500, the primary index for the US stock market, were the Vanguard S&P 500 in third place, iShares Core S&P 500 at seventh and State Street SPDR S&P 500 in the final spot.
How do these three funds differ? They all replicate the index in its entirety (not all ETFs do; some ‘sample’ an index rather than hold all constituents). But a key difference is cost: the State Street ETF has an ‘ongoing’ charge of 0.03% a year, whereas the other two charge 0.07%.
All of them have, naturally enough, all their money in American-listed companies. But even the three global funds in the top 10, the Vanguard FTSE All-World in first place, VanEck Semiconductor in the second spot and iShares Core MSCI World at fifth, have US exposures of 61.1%, 81.6% and 71.8%, respectively.
America has a commanding position in the microchip sector, although there are also important ‘semi’ companies beyond its shores, notably Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which makes advanced chips under contract for firms such as Nvidia, and ASML, which makes the highly specialised machines needed to manufacture silicon chips. Both companies feature among the VanEck ETF’s top holdings, along with American names such as Micron Technology, AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia and Intel.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF is a newcomer to the top 10 and its appearance no doubt reflects the stellar performance of the sector in recent years. The fund price stood at £22.10 three years ago but has more than tripled since then to £72. Please remember past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
The top 10 contains some low-risk ETFs too. Amundi Smart Overnight Return in fourth position is effectively a cash fund and currently yields 4.1% (yields are variable and not guaranteed), while the sixth-placed iShares £ Ultrashort Bond invests in bonds that are very close to maturity. This means there is little time for any adverse change at the issuer before the bond is repaid and therefore less risk of default. The ETF yields 5.7% and the bonds it holds are of ‘investment grade’. It should be noted that the Amundi ETF carries a charge of 0.1% compared the 0.15% commonly applied on the cash or money market options found in the fund sector.
The final two portfolios in the top 10 are regional funds. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index , one of our Select 50 funds, was the eighth most popular among our clients last month (Investable Market Index is explained here). In ninth place, meanwhile, was the Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific Ex Japan. The fund has 59.3% of its money in developed markets in Asia, other than Japan, and 38.6% in Australasia.
Top 10 best-selling ETFs on Fidelity Personal Investing in April 2026
- Vanguard FTSE All-World
- VanEck Semiconductor
- Vanguard S&P 500
- Amundi Smart Overnight Return
- iShares Core MSCI World
- iShares £ Ultrashort Bond
- iShares Core S&P 500
- iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index
- Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific Ex Japan
- State Street SPDR S&P 500
Source: Fidelity International. Net ETF sales 1–30 April 2026 for Personal Investors only.
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