Most Popular ETFs by AUM (2024)

The most popular ETFs are generally those with the highest assets under management (AUM), which is the total value of assets that an ETF manages on behalf of its investors. ETFs with the highest AUM also happen to be among the best ETFs with the lowest expense ratios.

Why Some of the Best ETFs Have the Highest AUM

When it comes to choosing the best ETFs, AUM is a critical metricthat investors should consider.

Reasons why it's important to choose ETFs with high AUM include:

Liquidity
Diversification
Lower costs
Stability
Transparency

Liquidity

ETFs with high AUM tend to have more liquidity than those with low AUM. Liquidity is the ease with which an investor can buy or sell an ETF without affecting its price. ETFs with high AUM have a higher trading volume, which means there are more buyers and sellers in the market, making it easier for investors to buy or sell shares.

Diversification

Diversification is the practice of spreading investments across various asset classes to reduce risk. ETFs with high AUM typically hold more securities from various sectors and regions, which can reduce an investor's exposure to any single security. This diversification can help mitigate risk and improve overall portfolio performance.

Lower Costs

ETFs with high AUM can benefit from economies of scale, resulting in lower management fees. As the ETF grows in size, fixed expenses such as legal and administrative costs become a smaller percentage of the fund's total expenses. As a result, ETF providers can reduce management fees, making the fund more attractive to investors.

Stability

High AUM is often an indicator of a fund's popularity and investor confidence in its performance. Popular ETFs attract more investors, which can lead to a more stable asset base. This stability can help reduce the risk of large redemptions or liquidations, which can be disruptive to an ETF's performance.

Transparency

Transparency is the degree to which an ETF provider discloses information about its holdings, performance, and strategy. High-AUM ETFs often have more resources to devote to investor education and transparency efforts. This transparency can help investors better understand the fund's strategy and make more informed investment decisions.

Most Popular ETFs by AUM

The most popular ETFs can be found by searching for ETFs with the highest assets under management. To choose our list of most popular ETFs, we used our ETF screener and began with the entire ETF universe of more than 3,000 ETFs, then simply sorted them by AUM from highest to lowest.

Ticker	Fund	AUM	Expense Ratio	10-Yr Return
SPY	SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	$363.23B	0.09%	12.58%
IVV	iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	$300.18B	0.03%	12.64%
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	$288.78B	0.03%	12.23%
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	$286.59B	0.03%	12.52%
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	$161.33B	0.20%	17.07%
VEA	Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF	$108.44B	0.05%	5.36%
VTV	Vanguard Value ETF	$102.98B	0.04%	11.52%
IEFA	iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF	$94.20B	0.07%	5.34%
BND	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	$88.98B	0.03%	1.00%
AGG	iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF	$86.60B	0.03%	0.99%

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 index, which is a cap-weighted basket of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. SPY is the oldest ETF listed on a U.S. exchange and is the largest ETF as measured by AUM.

Expense ratio: 0.09%
Assets under management: $363.23B
10-year return: 12.58%
As of date: January 31, 2023

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 index. On the market since 2000, IVV is not only one of the largest ETFs on the market, it’s also one of the oldest, with one of the lowest expense ratios.

Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $300.18B
10-year return: 12.64%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index, which is a cap-weighted index that measures the investable U.S. equities market, encompassing the entire market-cap spectrum. VTI can be a good choice for investors looking for comprehensive market equity exposure that leans more toward large caps than mid and small caps.

Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $288.78B
10-year return: 12.23%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 index. VOO can be a good choice for investors looking for pure exposure to U.S. stocks. Investors should note that VOO allocates nearly 25% of the portfolio to the top 10 holdings.

Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $286.59B
10-year return: 12.52%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Invesco QQQ Trust

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) tracks a modified -market-cap-weighted index of 100 NASDAQ-listed stocks. Often referred to as “the triple Q’s,” the fund only invests in nonfinancial stocks listed on NASDAQ, which makes this ETF’s portfolio lean heavily toward technology stocks.

Expense ratio: 0.20%
Assets under management: $161.33B
10-year return: 17.07%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) tracks a market-cap-weighted index of large, mid and small cap stocks from developed markets outside the U.S. This ETF holds over 4,000 stocks of companies with the greatest regional exposure to Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Expense ratio: 0.05%
Assets under management: $108.44B
10-year return: 5.36%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Vanguard ValueETF

The Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks the CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index, which includesstocks from the top 85% of market capitalization based on multiple value factors. To determine value, VTV's index uses P/B, forward P/E, historic P/E, dividend-to-price and sales-to-price ratios.

Expense ratio: 0.04%
Assets under management: $102.98B
10-year return: 11.52%
As of date: January 31, 2023

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks a market-cap-weighted index of developed-market stocks in Europe, Australasia and the Far East, and excludes North America. It covers about 98% of investable markets. This means that IEFA offers broad, unbiased coverage of equities in developed international countries, excluding U.S. and Canada.

Expense ratio: 0.07%
Assets under management: $94.20B
10-year return: 5.34%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) seeks to track the Bloomberg US Aggregate Float-Adjusted Index, which is a market-value-weighted index of U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade, taxable, fixed income securities with maturities of at least one year. With over 10,000 securities in the portfolio, BND offers low -cost broad exposure to the U.S. bond market.

Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $88.98B
10-year return: 1.00%
As of date: January 31, 2023

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, which is composed of the total U.S. bond market. Thus, AGG offers investors a low -cost broadly diversified fund that averages investment-grade credit risk and intermediate-term duration in the holdings.

Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $86.60B
10-year return: 0.99%
As of date: January 31, 2023

Bottom Line

The most popular ETFs are generally those with the highest AUM. Choosing ETFs with high AUM can offer several benefits to investors, including increased liquidity, diversification, lower costs, stability and transparency. However, investors should not rely solely on AUM as a metric to evaluate ETFs.

Other factors, such as the ETF's investment strategy and performance history, should also be considered when researching ETFs. Ultimately, investors should do their due diligence and choose ETFs that align with their investment goals, risk tolerance, and overall portfolio strategy.