On June 2, 2026, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO officially eclipsed $1 trillion in net asset value for the first time, making it the first exchange-traded fund to achieve that feat.
Crossing the $1 trillion barrier is more symbolic than anything. ETFs do not win prizes for growing to a particular size. Though Vanguard, and its funds that own the firm, will earn incrementally more revenue.
The achievement underscores the immense success of index funds and Vanguard’s role in their adoption by investors of all types. Rivals iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY are close behind. The former’s net asset value ended the day with just under $861 billion, while the latter had almost $786 billion.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF didn’t always look like the favorite to hit the trillion-dollar mark first. It was the smallest of the big three S&P 500 ETFs with about $225 billion to its name just five years ago. State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF was the giant at the time with around $360 billion.
Inflows of new money largely went Vanguard’s way and catapulted its ETF from third to first. Investors added more than $400 billion of new money to Vanguard S&P 500 ETF between June 2021 and May 2026, while the iShares and State Street ETFs took in an estimated $250 billion and $88 billion, respectively.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Hits $1 Trillion
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF’s prominence is timely as its parent mutual fund is set to turn 50. The ETF is a share class of Vanguard 500 Index VFIAX, formerly Vanguard First Index Investment Trust, which Vanguard launched on Aug. 31, 1976. It is the first and oldest index-tracking mutual fund available to retail investors.
