Here's What the 10 Largest US ETFs Have in Common
- It’s no coincidence that the biggest ETFs have gathered so much market share.
- Investing is all about 'minimizing expenses and emotions; maximizing diversification and discipline.'
The 4,494 ETFs traded in the United States have accumulated total assets under management of $10.8 trillion. The simple average expense ratio was 0.92% at the end of 2024, according to Morningstar.
But the 10 ETFs with the largest assets under management hold about a third of those total assets. That is to say, 0.2% of the ETFs control 33% of all U.S.-based ETF assets.
Largest U.S. ETFs as of July 8, 2025
| Ticker | Fund Name | One-Year Total Return | Expense Ratio | AUM |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 13.20% | 0.03% | $688.6B |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 13.10% | 0.09% | $637.6B |
| IVV | iShares Core S7P 500 ETF | 13.20% | 0.03% | $627.2B |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 13.60% | 0.03% | $502.2B |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust Series I | 11.70% | 0.20% | $352.7B |
| VUG | Vanguard Growth ETF | 13.70% | 0.04% | $175.9B |
| VEA | Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 16.70% | 0.03% | $162.6B |
| IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 16.50% | 0.07% | $141.3B |
| VTV | Vanguard Value ETF | 13.40% | 0.04% | $140B |
| BND | Vaguard Total Bond Market ETF | 4.40% | 0.03% | $130.6B |
Source: etf.com & FactSet Data
It’s no coincidence that these ETFs gathered so much of the ETF market share. After all, investors are smart.
Shared Characteristics
Here are some things these ETFs have in common and why you should consider using these features in selecting ETFs for your portfolio.
Low Costs
The weighted average expense ratio for these funds is 0.06% annually. That’s barely a tenth of the 0.92% average. Even the most expensive, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), at 0.2% annually, is barely a fifth of the average ETF. Costs matter, and investors understand this.
Passive Management
All 10 follow passive indexes. Active investing has higher fees, and the data are compelling that active managers, in the long run, underperform. Sure, some beat the market for years, but fewer than random luck would predict. Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation Fund (ARKK) is a great example of a fund with spectacular performance that then crashed (though it’s done quite well over the past year).
Cap-Weighted
All of these funds are weighted by market capitalization. Smart Beta indexes and funds were the rage many years ago as factor investing outperformed. Then, money poured in, and performance generally lagged badly. Market-cap weighting requires far fewer trades. Admittedly, some of these funds focus on growth and value, which are factors. But within these factors, they are cap-weighted.
High Diversification
These funds hold at least 100 positions, and some own thousands. Diversification is the one free lunch in investing. Concentrated or even single-stock ETFs defeat the purpose of ETFs, in my opinion.
Never Made Top-10 ETF Quarterly Performers
Because these ETFs are diversified, I don’t believe any has made the list of the top performers. That’s a really good thing, as they also don’t make the list of the worst performers.
My View
Investing in eight words is simply “minimizing expenses and emotions; maximizing diversification and discipline.” The core ETFs I recommend are total U.S. and international stock ETFs and total bond ETFs.
They accomplish the goal of minimizing expenses and maximizing diversification. It’s up to the investor to minimize emotions and maximize discipline.
