The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is about to cross a line no exchange-traded fund has crossed before. VOO’s assets under management sit at roughly $980.7 billion, and with daily inflows averaging $1.25 billion, the math says the $1 trillion mark arrives within days.
To put that number in perspective, $1 trillion is larger than the GDP of all but about 16 countries. And it’s sitting inside a single fund that charges investors 0.03% annually, or about $3 for every $10,000 invested.
How VOO ate SPY’s lunch
For years, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was the undisputed heavyweight champion of ETFs. It launched in 1993, pioneered the entire category, and held the crown for decades. Then VOO showed up and started doing essentially the same thing for less money.
VOO overtook SPY to become the largest ETF back in February 2025. The gap has only widened since. VOO now leads SPY by roughly $200 billion in total assets.
