The U.S. exchange traded fund industry reached a significant milestone on Wednesday. There are now over 4,000 ETFs trading at the same time. 2024 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. exchange traded fund industry. It included 747 new fund launches, partially offset by fewer than 190 fund closures. The year ended with 3,934 U.S. ETFs trading, compared to 3,366 at the end of 2023.
2025 has been off to a similarly strong start, with the exchange traded fund industry gaining over 70 new products just over a month into the year.
The new ETFs launched on Wednesday, pushing the total U.S. ETF count above 4,000, came from Cohen & Steers, Thornburg Investment Management, BlackRock, Schwab Asset Management, among others.
See more: Cohen & Steers Debuts New Library of Active ETFs
The exchange traded fund industry has seen dozens of unique products enter the market in recent history. A few that stand out in the past year include the Neuberger Berman Small-Mid Cap ETF (NBSM ), the VictoryShares Free Cash Flow Growth ETF (GFLW ), the Calamos Laddered S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF (CPSL ), and the Eaton Vance Total Return Bond ETF (EVTR ).
“Exchange traded funds have quickly gone mainstream. Asset managers are eager to bring their best ideas to meet ETF minded investors,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. “However, education is key, as it is rare for two similar sounding ETFs to be alike. VettaFi is well-positioned to help investors understand newer products.”
Many more than 3,000 ETFs have been launched since the very first ETF, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY ), debuted in 1993. Scores of funds close every year due to a lack of investor interest and a limited amount of assets. It’s expensive to launch an exchange traded fund, and operation costs are also significant.
U.S. exchange traded funds ended 2024 with $10.4 trillion in combined assets under management. And flows for the year reached an industry record of $1.1 trillion. Furthermore, U.S. ETFs hauled in over $100 billion in net flows in January 2025, suggesting 2025 could be another record-breaking year.
See more: ETF Flowdown: Off to the Races in 2025
For more information, please visit VettaFi.com | ETF Trends.
