Nigerian Exchange Traded Funds on the Nigerian Exchange experienced huge losses in February despite a soaring month for the broader index.

Data compiled by Nairametrics Research from the NGX showed that the total amount traded for ETFs rose from N1.51 billion in January to N2.94 billion in February, while trading volume increased from 6.3 million units in January to 18.6 million units in February.

Despite the rise in trading volume and value, most ETFs recorded declines ranging from 7% to 48%, indicating ongoing market pressure on the funds. A few sector-specific ETFs, particularly in banking and consumer sectors, delivered positive gains.

Meristem Growth ETF suffered the greatest decline, plunging 48.20% to N650 from N1,254.90, with its market capitalization falling to N8.7 billion from N16.82 billion at the end of January.

The Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 fell 40.12% in February, closing at N1,956.42 from N3,267.42, while its market capitalization dropped to N11.2 billion from N18.67 billion at the end of January.

The SIAML Pension ETF 40 declined 33.13% and closed at N5,014.96 from N7,500, with market capitalization decreasing to N32.3 billion from N48.4 billion at the end of January.

The Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond ETF declined 33.37% to N400 from N600.30, resulting in market capitalization falling to N1.41 billion.

Greenwich Alpha ETF sank 32.07% to N600 from N883.28, with market capitalization standing at N3.45 billion.

The NewGold ETF fell 16.54%, closing at N66,600 from N79,799.84, and its market capitalization slumped to N3.56 billion.

Vetiva Industrial ETF declined 9.79% to N129.42 from N143.47, with market capitalization standing at N215 million.

The Meristem Value ETF 40 fell 7.13% and closed at N650 from N699.90, with market capitalization standing at N7.06 billion at the end of February.

These decreases reflected broader market weakness, particularly in diversified indices.

Three ETFs reported positive gains in February. The Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF closed at N65.61, up 15.88% from N56.62, though its market capitalization slipped to N243.08 million.

Vetiva Banking ETF closed February at N31.19, up 15.35% from N27.04, with capitalization dipping to N1.99 billion at the end of February.

Lotus Halal Equity ETF closed at N145.1, up 9.02% from N133.1, with market capitalization reduced to N4.85 billion.

Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF closed at N73.80, up 1.10% from N73, with market capitalization reduced to N10.54 billion.

These funds showed that sector-focused ETFs can still create returns even when the overall market fails, particularly in consumer goods and banking sectors.

February’s trading activities showed noticeable trends in volume and value, with overall value traded at N2.94 billion and total volume of 18.60 million units.

Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 recorded the highest total transaction value of N672.08 million despite its significant price drop.

Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF traded for N481.22 million, while the Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond ETF generated N338.40 million in trading value.

Vetiva Banking ETF had the highest volume with 6.13 million units traded, followed by Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF with 5.63 million units moved. NewGold ETF had only 402 units traded.

The favorable performance of the Banking ETF and Consumer Goods ETF suggested a trend toward more conservative stocks. Investors appeared to be leaning toward industries with stable profitability and resilience amid market turbulence.

ETFs such as Meristem Growth ETF and Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 saw significant losses, highlighting the risk of broad market exposure during uncertain times, especially for large-cap stock-heavy indices.

Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 had the biggest trading value but its price declined significantly, indicating that high trading volumes may not always reflect favorable investor sentiment and could signal institutional or large-scale sell-offs.

The decrease in the Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond ETF demonstrated that even traditionally secure assets like bonds can be influenced by broader economic issues such as changes in interest rates.

These trends showed that investors are becoming more discriminating, focusing on sectors that provide stability while broadly diversified funds struggle in a difficult economic situation.

ETF performance in January demonstrated strong market activity with gains ranging from 35% to 322% month-to-date, contrasting sharply with year-to-date results in 2025, which ranged from 5% to 170%.

This steep increase indicated that January was a very volatile month with several ETFs returning extremely high returns.

In January, market activity increased significantly with a total trading volume of 6.33 million units and a value of N1.51 billion compared to previous months.

Among the 12 ETFs listed on NGX, Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF and NewGold ETF outperformed with returns of 36.64% and 35.25% respectively, indicating a focus on specialized sectors rather than broad market exposure.

Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 delivered good gains in January, but if the NGX 30 Index hadn’t increased by 237%, its performance could have been more suggestive of price volatility than an accurate reflection of the underlying index.

ETFs usually follow a certain stock index, industry, or asset class such as banking stocks, consumer goods, industrial companies, or government bonds. The performance of sector-focused ETFs in January revealed that investors preferred to invest in certain areas rather than the overall market.