Top exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a cost-effective way for investors to diversify their portfolios across various asset classes. ETFs track a particular index, sector, or commodity and trade on a stock exchange the same way that a regular stock does, providing investors with added flexibility.

Below, we look at five top equity, bond, fixed income, commodities, and currency ETFs that have generated the best returns over the last month, excluding inverse and leveraged ETFs, as well as funds with less than $50 million in assets under management (AUM). All data below is as of July 21.

Equity ETF with the Best 1-Month Return: Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH)

• Performance 1 Month: 59.48%
• Expense Ratio: 0.5%
• Annual Dividend Yield: 0.72%
• 30-Day Average Daily Volume: 124,007
• Assets Under Management: $108.86 million
• Inception Date: July 12, 2021
• Issuer: Mirae Asset Global Investments Co.

BKCH tracks the Solactive Blockchain Index, a benchmark comprising global companies involved in blockchain technologies, such as digital asset mining, digital asset transactions, and blockchain applications. Technology and financials top the sector allocations at 52.07% and 30.11%, respectively.

This ETF’s top holdings include leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), digital asset mining company Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA), and Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT), a bitcoin mining company. Although the fund doesn’t directly hold digital currencies, it has benefited from a positive outcome for cryptocurrencies in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Ripple Labs lawsuit, in which a judge deemed Ripple’s XRP token not to be a security.

Bond ETF with the Best 1-Month Return: iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT)

• Performance 1 Month: 3.72%
• Expense Ratio: 0.2%
• Annual Dividend Yield: 1.87%
• 30-Day Average Daily Volume: 242,214
• Assets Under Management: $1.41 billion
• Inception Date: June. 2, 2015
• Issuer: BlackRock

ICVT aims to provide similar returns to the Bloomberg U.S. Convertible Cash Pay Bond > $250MM Index. This benchmark tracks an index of U.S. dollar (USD)-denominated convertible bonds weighted by market value, specifically cash pay bonds, with outstanding issue sizes greater than $250 million.

The fund's largest holding is in the technology sector with a 27.43% asset allocation, while healthcare and consumer services are also well-represented with allocations of 13.18% and 11.76%, respectively. ICVT directly benefited from those three sectors outperforming the broader market in July.

Fixed Income ETF with the Best 1-Month Return: InfraCap REIT Preferred ETF (PFFR)

• Performance 1 Month: 4.68%
• Expense Ratio: 0.45%
• Annual Dividend Yield: 8.14%
• 30-Day Average Daily Volume: 15,887
• Assets Under Management: $61.88 million
• Inception Date: Feb. 7, 2017
• Issuer: Virtus Investment Partners

PFFR tracks the Indxx REIT Preferred Stock Index, a benchmark consisting of U.S.-listed preferred securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs). The fund, which rebalances semiannually, only selects securities with a yield of 3% or higher and limits any single issue to a 10% weighting.

Top holdings in the ETF’s portfolio include mortgage manager Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NLY), data-center operator Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR), and broadband service provider Digital Bridge Communications Corp.

Commodities ETF with the Best 1-Month Return: ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF (OILK)

• Performance 1 Month: 5.28%
• Expense Ratio: 0.67%
• Annual Dividend Yield: 8.34%
• 30-Day Average Daily Volume: 35,528
• Assets Under Management: $89.94 million
• Inception Date: Sept. 26, 2016
• Issuer: ProShares

OILK tracks the performance of the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index, a benchmark holding three separate contracts at equal weighting with different roll schedules. The first portion of the ETF’s portfolio follows a monthly roll schedule, while the second and third portions hold June and December contracts, respectively, that roll annually each March and September.

The fund has benefited from a recovery in oil prices throughout July on expectations that China will implement policies to support economic growth after an unexpected contraction in its gross domestic product (GDP) and hopes that the Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates soon. A slowdown in rate hikes typically facilitates economic output, which in turn increases demand for oil.

Currency ETF with the Best 1-Month Return: Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust (FXF)

• Performance 1 Month: 4.13%
• Expense Ratio: 0.4%
• Annual Dividend Yield: N/A
• 30-Day Average Daily Volume: 19,021
• Assets Under Management: $165.54 million
• Inception Date: June 21, 2006
• Issuer: Invesco

FXF provides direct exposure to the Swiss franc (CHF) by holding physical currency in a JP Morgan deposit account, ensuring the fund closely tracks the CHF/USD spot exchange rate. Investors should be aware that the ETF carries credit risk, as there’s no deposit insurance on its holdings.

The fund outperformed other currency ETFs in July after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) flagged additional rate hikes in coming months to reduce ongoing inflationary pressures.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes online. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above ETFs.