The S&P 500, the benchmark U.S. equity index, now has $7.8 trillion following it with $2.16 trillion of that coming by way of exchange traded funds, mutual funds and other investment products, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Of the seven largest U.S.-listed ETFs, including the two largest, three are S&P 500 tracking funds. That trio is comprised of the $177 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY), the world’s largest ETF; the $70.3 billion iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: IVV) and the $32.6 billion Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEArca: VOO).
At the end of April, U.S. exchange traded products, including ETFs and exchange traded notes (ETNs), had $2.13 trillion in assets under management, indicating the three aforementioned S&P 500 ETFs combine for a significant percentage of total U.S. ETF assets. [Comparing S&P 500 ETFs]
S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the world’s largest index providers, said approximately $3.05 trillion is now directly invested in products based upon all equity and fixed income indices calculated and published by S&P DJI. Three of the four largest ETFs trading in Europe are S&P 500 funds.
Of the 40 largest U.S.-listed ETFs, 13 track S&P Dow Jones indexes. While the index provider is known for cap-weighted indexes such as the S&P 500 the benchmarks tracked by the sector SPDR ETFs, the largest suite of sector ETFs, S&P Dow Jones is also a prominent provider of alternatively-weighted and smart beta indexes. The firm has seen “significant AUM growth seen in products based upon S&P DJI Smart Beta Indices (+55% year-over-year growth to $133.64 billion).”
PowerShares uses S&P indexes for several well-known low volatility ETFs, including the $4.8 billion PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSEArca: SPLV) and the $576.3 million PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Portfolio (NYSEArca: SPHD). [Relax With Low Vol ETFs]
S&P is also the index provider for big-name dividend ETFs, including the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY) and the ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (NYSEArca: NOBL).
Surging growth by mid-cap ETFs has also helped drive assets to S&P indexes. For example, the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: IJH) and SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSEArca: MDY), which both track the S&P MidCap 400 Index, have hauled in $786.6 million and $695 million, respectively, in new assets this year. The S&P MidCap 400 was the best-performing U.S. equity index in May, gaining just over 1.6%. [The Lengthy Out-Performance of Mid-Cap ETFs]
Nearly $30 billion in assets are directly indexed to S&P DJI’s fixed income indices, according to the index provider.
Table Courtesy: S&P Dow Jones
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of IVV and SPY. Todd Shriber owns shares of SPHD.