U.S. ETF Assets Reach $10 Trillion Milestone

The ETF industry reached a major milestone this week. 

Assets in US ETFs have crossed $10 trillion for the first time, according to Bloomberg data. ETFs have increasingly taken market share from mutual funds due to the structure’s ability to offer lower costs, enhanced liquidity, and better tax efficiency.

“ETFs continue to gain traction as advisors see the typically low cost, tax efficient, and precise exposure benefits,” Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, said. 

Rosenbluth said it has been particularly great to see the adoption of newer strategies this year like active equity, crypto, and CLOs. The pendulum of assets flowing into ETFs is not swinging back but the need for education remains strong, he added.

“Milestones are a great time to assess impact, and $10 trillion in US-listed ETFs tell us that the ETF vehicle has had a big impact on the way we invest today,” Cinthia Murphy, investment strategist at VettaFi, said.

ETFs have empowered investors to access markets in new and better ways, Murphy added. “This is an industry in full growth mode because ETFs are solving investor problems, and product development keeps raising the bar on what’s possible,” she said.

Product development has been rampant this year, as the number of ETF launches during the first seven months of 2024 set its own record. 

Notably, nearly 50% of all ETF product launches in 2024 through July have employed financial derivatives, such as futures and options contracts, to achieve their investment goals, according to Kirsten Chang, senior industry analyst at VettaFi. 

See more: Record ETF Launches: Derivatives Storm the Scene

The ETFs that have seen the largest flows in 2024 to date include the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO A), the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV A), the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI A), the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT C+), and the Invesco QQQ Trust Series (QQQ B+). The five ETFs accreted over $175 billion in combined net flows year to date through September 26.

The top-performing ETFs in 2024 to date, excluding leveraged funds, include the YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY B+), the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC B+), the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI B-), the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO A-), and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH A-). 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETFDB.