Winning on their own terms: 5 funds and ETFs leading the pack

In 2025, it’s paying to be different.

While traditional stock portfolios wrestle with volatility and valuation fatigue, alternative assets are delivering some of the strongest returns of any asset class in a generation.

The cocktail of tariff turmoil, geopolitical tension, relentless money printing, and a tug-of-war between sticky inflation and a weakening jobs market has proven irresistible for strategies built to thrive in uncertainty.

From absolute return and natural resources funds to physical and digital assets, almost every corner of the alternatives universe is posting double-digit gains.

Below, we break down the top-performing alternatives managed funds and ETFs over the past 12 months and reveal some of the trades, themes and tailwinds that are shaping their cracking performance.

How we compiled these lists

Our performance data is sourced from Morningstar, and the funds listed are available on Livewire’s Find Funds menu (located in the top-right corner of the webpage). Note that this is not an exhaustive list of all Australian equity funds in the market.

Here’s how we filtered the results:

• Fund Type: Managed Fund or ETFs
• Asset Class: Alternative Assets

We then manually refined the list based on 1-year returns.

NOTE: While it is an interesting exercise to examine fund performance over a one-year period, most funds recommend minimum investment periods of five years or more. As such, it would be worthwhile to consider longer-term performance across cycles when researching funds or making investment decisions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future 

The list - actively managed funds

Datt Capital Absolute Return Fund (ARF): +33.03%

Emanuel Datt is a man of conviction - and conviction has paid off handsomely this year.

His mental mapping of markets is something out of the ordinary. Whether it’s timing a turnaround in KYP Technology (ASX: KYP), riding the momentum in MEK Metals (ASX: MEK), or leaning into a critical minerals play like WA1 Resources (ASX: WA1), Datt has managed to balance boldness with discipline; delivering a 33% return and leaving the ASX 200 in the dust.

The fund’s approach is unapologetically high-conviction and research-driven, aiming for double-digit returns through the cycle while preserving capital. In 2025, that strategy proved its worth.

By focusing on undervalued Australian small caps facing temporary dislocations, and steering clear of inflated valuations, Datt positioned the portfolio squarely where value and opportunity intersected. Datt's ARF is also the top-performing fund over a five year period, with returns exceeding 20% p.a.

Managed Fund

Datt Capital Absolute Return Fund

Alternative Assets

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Tribeca Global Natural Resources Strategy – +27.32%

Tribeca’s Global Natural Resources Strategy thrives on cyclical inflection points in commodities and energy markets. 

Its multi-asset, long/short style allowed it to capitalise on the revival in uranium, copper and gold equities, fuelled by renewed government focus on energy security and supply-chain resilience.

The fund’s performance was driven by core structural thematics, notably electrification (base metals, battery metals) and the energy transition. 

The improving market structure, including expectations of China's monetary and fiscal stimulus and lower global interest rates, created an ideal environment to generate alpha from fundamental positions and special situations in the resource sector.

Managed Fund

Tribeca Global Natural Resources Strategy

Alternative Assets

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GAM LSA Private Shares AU Fund – +18.72%

The GAM LSA Private Shares Fund offers investors a front-row seat to the next generation of IPO-ready innovators - from artificial intelligence and defence technology to electric aviation.

In 2025, the strategy benefited from a structural shift reshaping private markets: companies are staying private for longer, allowing investors to capture more of the value creation that previously occurred after listing.

As liquidity returns to venture funding and AI drives an innovation super-cycle, GAM’s focus on mature, late-stage, venture-backed leaders is paying off. 

The fund holds stakes in some of the most exciting private companies in the world, offering low correlation to public-market volatility and high exposure to the next wave of technological disruption.

Among its portfolio standouts are:

• Cerebras Systems, builder of the world’s most powerful AI chips designed to accelerate deep-learning workloads.
• Discord, the social platform connecting millions of online communities.
• Nanotronics Imaging, a precision robotics firm redefining industrial inspection.

Managed Fund

GAM LSA Private Shares AU Fund

Alternative Assets

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Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure Fund – +17.43%

Infrastructure quietly emerged as one of the most dependable income plays of 2025, and Maple-Brown Abbott has navigated both the year and the past five years with finesse, delivering returns of 12.28% p.a.

The Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure Fund benefited from the build-out of North American utilities and pipelines, where companies are racing to expand capacity for AI data centres and the broader energy transition.

Among its current key holdings are Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) and Vinci (EPA: DG) - the former developing regulated U.S. gas and power assets critical to industrial electrification, and the latter leading major airport and toll road expansions across Europe.

The fund’s exposure to these essential, inflation-linked assets captured the growing global demand for grid resilience and critical infrastructure, while its disciplined, valuation-driven approach kept volatility in check.

Managed Fund

Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure Fund

Alternative Assets

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ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Value Fund (Unhedged) – +17.31%

The ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Value Fund focuses on regulated utilities and essential infrastructure that underpin economies. Like Maple-Brown Abbott, it has been a standout performer over the past five years, delivering 10.28% p.a.

In 2025, the fund was well positioned for the surge in energy and grid investment, as companies responded to record demand driven by LNG exports, industrial reshoring, and AI-driven electricity use. 

Holdings such as Canada’s TC Energy (TSE: TRP) - expanding its vast North American gas pipeline network - and Entergy (NYSE: ETR) - securing long-term power agreements with data centres across the U.S. south - capture the kind of utilities driving this secular growth.

The list - ETFs

VanEck bitcoin etf (VanEck Bitcoin ETF): +87.12%, Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ASX: EBTC): +85.66% & Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (ASX: IBTC): +84.72%

Few assets have captured investors’ imagination this year quite like Bitcoin.

The VanEck Bitcoin ETF, Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Monochrome Bitcoin ETF surged 85-87% as the long-awaited launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2025 sparked a global wave of inflows and renewed confidence in digital assets.

Momentum was further amplified by the Trump administration’s push to legitimise crypto, with a series of pro-industry bills and regulatory reforms signalling that digital assets are here to stay.

For many investors, Bitcoin has become a hedge against unchecked money printing and fiscal excess - "digital gold" if you will - while the simplicity of the ETF wrapper removed the friction that had long deterred mainstream participation.

In an interview with CoinShares, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas described 2025 as a watershed moment for Bitcoin:

“U.S. Bitcoin ETFs are now just shy of gold, and we think they could triple gold ETFs in the next three to five years.”

“For the average person who wants exposure to Bitcoin, it’s full of friction. Crypto exchanges charge a lot. Setting up a wallet, transferring funds from a bank - it’s a pain. With an ETF? You just roll out of bed, log into [your broker], click ‘Buy,’ and you’re done.”

ETF

VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC)

Alternative Assets

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ETF

Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC)

Alternative Assets

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ETF

Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC)

Alternative Assets

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Global X Physical Platinum (ASX: ETPMPT): +66.13%

The Global X Physical Platinum ETF enjoyed a massive rally, approaching price points not seen since 2008. This wasn't merely a commodity rebound; it was the metal trading as a prime beneficiary of the energy transition.

Demand was catalysed by its indispensable role in hydrogen fuel cells, emission-reducing catalysts, and specialised high-tech manufacturing, particularly within hybrid and heavy-duty vehicles. 

With global mining supply constrained and analysts projecting a third straight annual platinum deficit in 2025, the tight physical market amplified gains, cementing platinum's status as a critical input.

ETF

Global X Physical Platinum (ETPMPT)

Alternative Assets

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Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF (ASX: EETH): +65.56%

If Bitcoin is digital gold, Ethereum is digital infrastructure - the foundation of decentralised finance and the primary home for stablecoins, NFTs, and countless blockchain applications.

In 2025, confidence in Ethereum rebounded sharply following successful system upgrades that made the network faster, cheaper, and more energy efficient. 

Investors were also attracted by the opportunity to earn a “digital yield”, rewards for staking ETH to help secure the network, as well as the growing institutional embrace of blockchain technology.

ETF

Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH)

Alternative Assets

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And in case you’re wondering - silver and gold also glittered, ~54% and ~52%, respectively over the past year. Gold remained one of the best compounders over five years, returning 16% p.a., and it continues to shine as the top long-term performer over 20 years, with annualised returns of nearly 11%, as highlighted in the recent Livewire Long Term Investing Report.

Education

The best performing asset classes over 20 years

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The new pillar of diversification

If 2025 - and the past five years - has proven anything, it’s that alternatives are no longer “alternative.”

Whether through well-run active funds or targeted ETF exposures, stepping outside the traditional equity and fixed income playbook can pay off handsomely.

From Bell Potter to Morgan Stanley, and boutique advisers like Viola Private Wealth, professional allocators are championing a new model: one that breaks the classic 60/40 portfolio and adds a third engine of returns and diversification.

We hope this list serves as a useful starting point if you’re considering adding an alternatives allocation to your portfolio.