U.S. ETF Monthly Summary: February 2025

U.S.-listed ETFs had $10.6 trillion in total assets under management at the end of February. The month saw ETF inflows of $111 billion. In addition, 82 ETFs launched in February, a significant jump from the 33 new ETFs in February 2024.

Fund Flows by Asset Class

U.S. listed ETF flows (in millions) as of February 28, 2025

Total inflows for February were $111 billion, up 4.31% from last month.

• Inflows for the top two asset classes were stable: equities up 4.45% and fixed income up 3%.

• Compared to last month’s negative $809 million, commodities performed positively after three months of outflows, accumulating $7 billion over the month.

Fund Flows by Sector

Materials, Communication Services, and Financials were the top sectors in terms of flows. Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate, on the other hand, experienced outflows.

ETF Launches

There were 82 new ETFs launched in February, eight more than last month. It's a significant increase when compared to the 33 launches from the same month last year.

• 51 funds with exposure to equities launched.

• 17 funds with exposure to fixed income launched.

• Unlike last month without new asset allocation ETFs, there were eight launches—with a few seeking to benefit from cryptocurrencies.

• On February 25, RBIL launched and became the first ETF to invest continuously and exclusively in ultra-short TIPS.

• Launched on February 27 in association with Apollo Global Securities, PRIV aims to provide retail investors exposure to public and private credit. The fund's issuer is responding to inquiries from the SEC.

By the Way

In case you missed it, on February 18 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) surpassed SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) as the ETF with the highest AUM at $638 billion compared to SPY’s $632 billion. However, it only took a day for SPY to reclaim its global leadership position.

You may think it’s just a blip in SPY’s long history of dominance, but it’s such a rare event—previously August 2011 when SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) briefly took the top spot at a time of market uncertainty.

At month-end, SPY still took the top spot with VOO second and IVV close behind. We thought it would be interesting to briefly examine these top three competing funds.

SPY debuted in 1993 and has since established a reputation as the oldest U.S.-listed ETF. The fund offered a diverse, stable portfolio of large-cap equity securities at a lower cost than stocks. IVV launched seven years later, while VOO launched 17 years after SPY in 2010.

All three funds are similar. They track the same index: the S&P 500. They all rate high according to FactSet Analytics for Efficiency, Tradability, and Fit—quality scores that investors may consider—all earning the Fund Grade A.

Unlike VOO and IVV, SPY is a unit investment trust. SPY’s structure allows reinvesting or paying dividends on a quarterly basis. VOO and IVV are open-ended funds with the advantage of moving dividends without the lag.

Another distinction from SPY is fees. SPY charges 0.09% while both VOO and IVV only charge 0.03%. As investments grow, so do fees, and that can significantly impact returns. The difference between expense ratios may not look like much, but basis points add up over time.

The gap between VOO and SPY has never been so close. As seen on the chart above, VOO’s climb to the top has not been without hitches, but it certainly got there. Not too far behind is IVV. Both VOO and IVV closed calendar year 2024 with AUM above $580 billion—only more than 6% difference to SPY’s $623.8 billion. As the ETF industry drove past the $10 trillion mark last year, there is a lot of space for competition. It’s hard to imagine SPY being displaced for too long, but February proved that it may be a closer race than has been thought.

This blog post is for informational purposes only. The information contained in this blog post is not legal, tax, or investment advice. FactSet does not endorse or recommend any investments and assumes no liability for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction taken based on the information contained in this article.