How Are Renewable Energy ETFs Doing?

How do exchange-traded-funds (ETF) focused on supplying renewable energy perform? To investigate, we consider nine of the largest renewable energy ETFs, all currently available, as follows:

• • iShares Global Clean Energy (ICLN)
  • Invesco Solar (TAN)
  • First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index (QCLN)
  • Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy (PBW)
  • ALPS Clean Energy (ACES)
  • Invesco Global Clean Energy (PBD)
  • SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power (CNRG)
  • First Trust Global Wind Energy (FAN)
  • Global X Renewable Energy Producers (RNRG)

We use SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) as a benchmark, assuming investors look at renewable energy stocks to beat the market and not to beat the energy sector. We focus on monthly return statistics, along with compound annual growth rates (CAGR) and maximum drawdowns (MaxDD). Using monthly returns for the nine renewable energy ETFs and SPY as available through September 2025, we find that: (more…)