A pioneering investment company has made financial history as its flagship exchange-traded fund became the first ETF ever to cross the $1 trillion asset threshold, the firm announced Wednesday.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF reached this historic benchmark on Tuesday, marking another significant achievement in the rapid growth of exchange-traded funds. This milestone came fewer than 18 months after the fund surpassed State Street Investment Management’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF in total assets, as investors seeking broad market exposure gravitated toward the most affordable options. The Vanguard product charges just a 0.03% management fee, significantly lower than the 0.09% fee imposed by the State Street fund, which currently ranks third among the top competitors including BlackRock Inc.
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, holds the second position in the S&P 500 ETF market with its iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, which has accumulated $860 billion in assets while also charging 0.03% in fees, according to VettaFi data. Meanwhile, SPY, the groundbreaking fund that helped establish the ETF marketplace when it debuted in 1993, currently holds $785 billion in assets.
Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, emphasized the significance of this achievement. “This is a key milestone,” said Rosenbluth. “Investors continue to turn to low-cost broad market exposure to gain access to the S&P 500 using VOO.”
