Exchange Traded Funds listed on the Nigerian Exchange staged a broad recovery in July 2026, reversing the correction observed in the latter stages of the first half of the year. Out of twelve tracked funds, nine recorded price gains, one closed flat, and two ended the month in negative territory.
Despite the positive price movements, trading activity remained relatively subdued. Analysts note that thin liquidity in the local ETF market can cause price movements to deviate from the underlying net asset values, meaning sharp swings are often driven by trading volume rather than fundamental asset shifts.
Greenwich Alpha Leads July Gainers
The Greenwich Alpha ETF delivered the strongest performance of the month, surging 30.41% to close at N917.98, up from N703.92 at the end of June. This growth pushed its market capitalization to N5.27 billion from N4.04 billion.
Vetiva Banking ETF followed closely with a 28.29% gain, closing at N31.06 from N24.21, while its market capitalization rose to N1.98 billion. The Vetiva Industrial ETF also advanced significantly, climbing 24.68% to close at N135.90 with a market capitalization of N226.39 million.
The Meristem Growth ETF and SIAML Pension ETF 40 recorded double-digit gains of 19.28% and 18.98% respectively. The SIAML Pension ETF 40 closed at N3,103.00, pushing its market capitalization past the N20 billion mark to N20.01 billion, securing its position as the second-largest ETF on the exchange.
Other gainers included the NewGold ETF, which rose 15.31% to close at N110,000.00, and the Lotus Halal Equity ETF, which advanced 6.50% to close at N130.00. The Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF gained 4.07% to close at N58.00, while the Meristem Value ETF recorded a modest 1.41% gain to close at N140.00.
The Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond ETF closed flat at N249.00, virtually unchanged from its June close of N248.99, maintaining a steady market capitalization of N876.57 million.
Trading Volume and Value Leaders
The Vetiva Banking ETF led the market in terms of volume, with 5.73 million units traded during July. The Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF followed with 2.91 million units, while the Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF recorded 1.33 million units traded.
In terms of transaction value, the Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 topped the chart at N823.92 million, despite trading only 328,569 units due to its high unit price. The SIAML Pension ETF 40 followed with N335.33 million in transaction value, while the Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF recorded N321.23 million.
The NewGold ETF remained the least traded by volume, with only 3,139 units exchanged. However, its high unit price of N110,000.00 allowed it to generate N291.37 million in total transaction value.
Historical Context and First Half Performance
The July recovery follows a mixed performance in the first half of 2026. Between January 2 and June 30, 2026, ten of the twelve tracked ETFs recorded gains ranging from 15.01% to 219.64%.
The Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 led the first-half rankings with a 219.64% return, rising from N969.22 at the start of the year to N3,098.00 in June, before shedding 9.62% in July to close at N2,800.00. Its market capitalization dropped to N9.58 billion from N10.59 billion during the month.
Conversely, the Meristem Value ETF and Meristem Growth ETF were the only funds to decline in the first half of the year, losing 63.65% and 70.41% respectively, before staging their partial recoveries in July.
The Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF experienced a marginal decline of 0.56% in July, closing at N106.00 down from N106.60. Despite this slight drop, it retained its position as the largest ETF on the Nigerian Exchange with a market capitalization of N15.31 billion.
