Cannabis and Precious Metals ETFs Shine as Investors Pour Capital into Consumer and Infrastructure Themes

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The U.S. thematic ETF market, comprising 382 funds from 94 issuers with a total of $231 billion in assets under management, experienced a dynamic week characterized by strong performance in niche categories and significant asset flows into broader economic themes. Cannabis-focused funds delivered standout returns, surging on renewed sector optimism. This performance divergence was mirrored in investor behavior, as themes like Evolving Consumer and Infrastructure attracted the most significant new capital, while areas such as FinTech saw modest withdrawals.

Weekly Performance Recap: Niche Themes Dominate Leaderboard

It was a week of sharp contrasts in the thematic space, with highly specialized categories delivering the strongest gains. The Cannabis & Vice theme led all categories with a remarkable 7.54% return, followed closely by Precious Metals, which gained 6.38%. Natural Resources also posted solid results. On the other end of the spectrum, Health Innovation and Sustainability-focused themes broadly lagged, with categories like Agribusiness and Digital Health & Health Tech posting the most significant declines for the week.

Thematic Category Performance (Week-to-Date):

  • Evolving Consumer: +1.04%
    • Top ETF: MJ (Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF): +12.27%
    • Bottom ETF: XHB (SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF): -2.49%
  • Precious Metals: +5.11%
    • Top ETF: GOEX (Global X Gold Explorers ETF): +6.52%
    • Bottom ETF: GOAU (U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF): +2.57%
  • Natural Resources: +1.61%
    • Top ETF: URNJ (Sprott Junior Uranium Miners ETF): +9.66%
    • Bottom ETF: FTAG (First Trust Indxx Global Agriculture ETF): -2.79%
  • Disruptive Tech: +1.18%
    • Top ETF: SKYY (First Trust Cloud Computing ETF): +4.43%
    • Bottom ETF: TINY (ProShares Nanotechnology ETF): -1.70%
  • Midstream & MLPs: +0.80%
    • Top ETF: USNG (Amplify Samsung U.S. Natural Gas Infrastructure ETF): +1.45%
    • Bottom ETF: EMLP (First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund): -0.31%
  • FinTech: +0.73%
    • Top ETF: WGMI (CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF): +8.45%
    • Bottom ETF: CRPT (First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF): -4.00%
  • Industrial Revolution: +0.46%
    • Top ETF: UFO (Procure Space ETF): +10.15%
    • Bottom ETF: SUPL (ProShares Supply Chain Logistics ETF): -1.89%
  • Alternative Equity: +0.43%
    • Top ETF: FBDC (FT Confluence BDC & Specialty Finance Income ETF): +1.20%
    • Bottom ETF: PSP (Invesco Global Listed Private Equity ETF): -0.81%
  • Thematic – Multi-Sector: +0.42%
    • Top ETF: LOUP (Innovator Deepwater Frontier Tech ETF): +3.08%
    • Bottom ETF: NXTE (AXS Green Alpha ETF): -1.38%
  • Infrastructure: -0.55%
    • Top ETF: XTL (SPDR S&P Telecom ETF): +3.08%
    • Bottom ETF: BKGI (BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income ETF): -2.61%
  • Sustainability: -0.91%
    • Top ETF: HYDR (Global X Hydrogen ETF): +1.26%
    • Bottom ETF: FAN (First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF): -3.22%
  • Health Innovation: -1.00%
    • Top ETF: SURI (Simplify Propel Opportunities ETF): +1.04%
    • Bottom ETF: IDNA (iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF): -3.43%

Weekly Flows Summary (As of 08/28/2025): Investors Favor Consumer, Infrastructure, and Metals

Investor capital flowed decisively into a few key areas this week. The Evolving Consumer theme was the clear leader, pulling in +$910 million, largely driven by interest in internet and home construction ETFs. Precious Metals followed with +$580 million in net new assets, as investors sought exposure to gold and silver miners. Infrastructure (+377M) and Disruptive Tech (+311M) also saw robust inflows. Meanwhile, FinTech experienced the largest outflows at -$17 million, followed by Industrial Revolution (-$11M) and Midstream & MLPs (-$8M).

Largest Individual ETF Flows (5-Day):

  • Inflows:
    1. FDN (First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund): +$560M
    2. ITB (iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF): +$152M
    3. XHB (SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF): +$139M
    4. MAGS (Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF): +$119M
    5. AIQ (Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF): +$85M
  • Outflows:
    1. BAI (iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF): -$42M
    2. ARKW (ARK Next Generation Internet ETF): -$31M
    3. ARKF (ARK Fintech Innovation ETF): -$19M
    4. IGE (iShares North American Natural Resources ETF): -$14M
    5. ARKX (ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF): -$12M

Issuer and Product Landscape

The thematic ETF landscape remains concentrated, with the top three issuers controlling nearly half of the market. Global X leads with a 16.65% market share, followed closely by First Trust at 15.84% and iShares at 15.46%. For the week, First Trust captured the largest net inflows, attracting +$834 million, while Procure saw the largest net outflows at -$8 million. Product development has remained active; 17 new thematic ETFs have launched in the past three months, with First Trust leading the issuance with three new funds. Over the same period, 15 funds have closed, with iShares having the most closures at three.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.

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