SPY, VOO: Which ETFs Ruled Inflows in 2023?

As the ETF market crested the $8 trillion level in a year that was good for both stocks and bonds, the direction of asset flows shows big appeal for cheap indexes.

In a year that marked the 30th anniversary of U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds, some ETFs set all-time records for inflows.

Following are the five ETFs that took in the most money in 2023 in descending order.

Source: Bloomberg Intelligence 

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), which seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index, had inflows of $21.6 billion in 2023, and a total return 26% for the year.

VTI is a cap-weighted index fund providing investors exposure to the entire U.S. stock market in a single security. Being cap-weighted, the fund is heavily tilted toward large-cap stocks, with less exposure to midcap and small-cap stocks.

VTI ended 2023 with $357.7 billion in assets and its expense ratio is 0.03%.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which is the largest long-term bond ETF on the market, saw inflows of $24.7 billion in 2023. 

These inflows are remarkable as the price for TLT was mostly falling during the first 10 months of the year.

The total 2023 return for TLT was 2.8%, but that small gain is impressive, as it represents a dramatic recovery from a 20% decline through October 19, when it finally recorded its bear market low, and a rise of more than 20% to end the year.

Assets for TLT ended 2023 at $51.6 billion and the fund's expense ratio is 0.15%.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which passively tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index, saw inflows of $38 billion in 2023, as investors enjoyed a 26.3% gain for the year.

As a market-cap-weighted index, the S&P 500 benefited from significant exposure to the mega-cap tech stocks that dominated 2023.

Assets for IVV ended the year at $399.8 billion and its expense ratio is among the cheapest on the market at 0.03%.

The Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO) extends the trend of ETFs tracking the S&P 500 index that saw massive inflows in 2023. For VOO, money coming in amounted to $42.5 billion during the year as the fund returned 26.3%.

VOO enjoys a large and loyal following of die-hard Vanguard investors and continues the investment company's history of offering passively managed index funds with dirt cheap expenses.

VOO's assets under management ended 2023 at $372 billion and its expense ratio is among the lowest in the industry at 0.03%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) got to celebrate its 30th year since inception in a big way, as it remained the largest ETF on the market with gigantic inflows of $49.4 billion in 2023.

On Dec. 15, SPY raked in $20.8 billion, marking the biggest inflow since the fund’s inception in 1993, and the largest single-day inflow of any ETF in history.

Adding to that distinction, SPY's assets of $493 billion are approaching the half-trillion mark, which is an amazing testament to the growth of the entire ETF industry.

SPY had a total return of 26.2% in 2023 and its expense ratio is 0.09%.