My top ETFs for a 2026 UK investor's portfolio

The ETFs below are my current top favourites for a 2026 general investment portfolio for a UK investor.

My core ETFs as a UK-based (GBP) investor would be PSRU(dist.) FTSE UK and PSRW(dist.) FTSE All world. Value stocks should do well, so IWVG(dist.) is another 'safe' horse being an All World Value ETF which has shown good performance.

The other ETFs will depend on which sectors you like the most for 2026.

GIGB(acc.) would definitely be a top satellite holding as mining will be strong in 2026 (Gold, Silver and Copper especially). Buy quickly before it becomes overvalued. GJGB(acc.) is a junior miner ETF.

XFSN(acc.)/IUFS(acc.)/BNKE(acc.) are financial ETFs, BNKE has done particularly well in 2025 and due to Ukraine and EU financial support, should also do well in 2026 either via defence spending or rebuilding programmes.

EQQQ(dist.)/XLKQ(acc. synth)/IITU(acc.) are similar USA Tech ETFs - these may not perform as well as in the previous 3 years but should still show growth. WITS (dist.) for a world IT ETF. If you think the USD will weaken in 2026 then buy EQGB instead of EQQQ.

CSKR(acc.) is for the Korean market (e.g. Samsung, Hynix, etc.) - IKOR(dist.) is an alternative.

HNSC(acc.) or HNSS for NASDAQ semiconductors (strong in AMD, TSMC, ASML, Broadcom, etc.)

There is a worldwide shortage of memory for AI and Data Centres. Demand for automation will increase as labour costs increase. Samsung (Korea), Hynix (Korea) and Micron (USA) supply 90% of memory chips to the world. Samsung make chips for many other companies too (Apple, Tesla, Broadcom, motor manufacturers, etc.) and is attempting to compete with TSMC for more foundry business.

The table below gives you the essential ETF details...

Exchange rates for EU and USA are not predicted to change much in 2026. In 2025, the USD exchange rate caused USA stocks to perform badly for UK investors with the S&P 500 losing approx 8% in terms of UK £GBP. With a more constant exchange rate expected in 2026, USA stocks should do better than they did in 2025 for UK investors.

I haven't listed it above, but nuclear/uranium should do well in the long term but just at the moment, this sector is a bargain. Something like NUCG(acc.) might be worth holding for the long term if you buy it now. National grids require large turbines for stability and nuclear is the only green way this can be achieved in 90% of cases.

For individual companies in 2026, take a look at some of my previous blog articles.

If crypto was going to succeed, it would have done so by now. I have sold all my crypto (bitcoin) as I don't want to be left holding the baby!

Note: Do not buy accumulating ETFs inside a GIA because working out the annual ERI (dividend) tax payments each year is a real PITA! Also, if you are a basic rate tax payer and do not allow for the ERI each year on accumulating ETFs, you will be paying too much tax when you sell the ETF! If you are a higher rate tax payer you will not be paying enough tax and HMRC may be writing to you! So just buy distributing ETFs and individual companies in your GIA (if a UK investor).

The above is for information only and is not financial advice - please do your own research.