Skip to Content
News & Analysis at your fingertips.

We use a range of cookies to give you the best possible browsing experience. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our use of cookies.
You can learn more about our cookie policy here, or by following the link at the bottom of any page on our site. See our updated Privacy Policy here.

Free Trading Guides
Subscribe
Please try again
Select

Live Webinar Events

0

Economic Calendar Events

0

Notify me about

Live Webinar Events
Economic Calendar Events

H

High

M

Medium

L

Low
More View More
Largest ETFs by Assets Under Management

Largest ETFs by Assets Under Management

Ben Lobel, Markets Writer

Share:

Advertisement
What's on this page

Those interested in equities can trade various types of stock and major stock indices, or they can put their money into mutual funds or ETFs - tradeable securities that each encompass a range of different stocks and other assets. But what are the largest and most popular ETFs? In this piece, we’ll give some background on the largest ETFs both overall and by type.

How to determine the largest ETFs

To determine the largest ETFs in any category it’s necessary to first set some definitions. Generally, it’s by assets under management or sometimes shortened to ‘AUM,’ which means the total amount of money invested in all of the fund’s share classes. Higher amounts of AUM will often correlate with higher trading volume, which in turn can produce a tighter spread. This can potentially make larger ETFs a more attractive option for investors if volumes are higher and spreads are tighter.

Largest ETFs overall

The largest ETFs by AUM as of April 1 2020 are the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, with $210 billion in AUM, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, with $120 billion in AUM, and the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, with $73 billion in AUM. The chart below shows the top ten largest ETFs, all but one of which are equity ETFs tracking major indices.

Largest ETFs by assets under management

Largest currency ETFs

Currency ETFs provide exposure to foreign exchange, investing in currencies such as USD and CAD. The largest currency ETFs as of April 1 2020 include the Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund, with some $982 million in AUM, the Invesco CurrencyShares Euro Currency Trust, with $273 million in AUM, and the Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust, with $234 million in AUM.

The chart below shows the top ten largest currency ETFs.

Forex for Beginners
Forex for Beginners
Recommended by Ben Lobel
Learn how to trade currencies with our expert forex guide
Get My Guide
Largest currency ETFs by assets under management

Largest bond ETFs

Bond ETFs provide exposure to fixed income securities such as US Treasuries or German Bunds. The largest bond ETFs as of April 1 2020 include the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF, with $68 billion in AUM, the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF with $50 billion in AUM, and the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF, with $26 billion in AUM. The chart below shows the top ten largest bond ETFs.

Largest bond ETFs by assets under management

Largest commodity ETFs

Commodity ETFs provide exposure to physical commodities such as natural resources, precious metals or agricultural goods. The largest commodity ETFs as of April 1 2020 include the Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF, with $1.53 billion in AUM, the Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund, with $752 million in AUM, and the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust, with $477 million in AUM. The chart below shows the top ten largest commodity ETFs by this measure.

Largest commodity ETFs by assets under management

Largest inverse ETFs

Inverse ETFs are designed to return the opposite result of a given benchmark. The largest inverse ETFs traded in the US as of April 01 2020 are the ProShares Short S&P 500, with $3.69 billion in AUM, the ProShares Ultrashort S&P 500, with $1.75 billion in AUM, and the ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500, with $1.41 billion in AUM. The chart below shows the top ten largest inverse ETFs.

Largest inverse ETFs by assets under management

Largest industry ETFs

Industry or sector ETFs provide exposure to stocks of a particular industry, for example pharma or retail. The largest industry ETFs as of April 1 2020 are the tech ETF Invesco QQQ, with $80.6 billion in AUM, the Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund, with $25 billion in AUM, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund, with $23 billion in AUM.

The chart below shows the top ten largest industry ETFs.

Largest industry ETFs by assets under management

FAQs

How popular are ETFs?

ETFs have exploded in popularity in recent years, overtaking hedge funds in the last decade in terms of AUM, although still remaining some distance away from both mutual funds and pension funds in this regard.

What is the size of the ETF market?

As of April 2020 the size of the ETF market is in excess of $5 trillion in assets. In December 2019, Bank of America predicted the ETF market will hit $50 trillion by 2030.

What is the oldest ETF?

The oldest ETF is also the largest by AUM: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, established in 1993, which carries the ticker symbol of ‘SPY.’

Do ETFs pay dividends?

Yes, ETFs can pay dividends like shares do. When the companies within the ETF pay dividends, they send the money to the ETF provider which in turn can either pass them to the investor or reinvest them back into the fund. For more background, check out our What is an ETF piece.

Further reading on equities

Looking for more information on equities? Check out our beginner’s guide to trading stocks and find out how the stock market affects the economy.

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

DISCLOSURES

Advertisement