Statistics · 2026 · ETFs
ETF Statistics (2026)
The 28 ETFs WealthyBud tracks carry expense ratios from 0.03% to 0.49% and a median 1-year return of 16.6%, as of 2026-07-10. For scale, the U.S. ETF industry as a whole held $13.4 trillion in net assets across 4,495 funds at year-end 2025, per the Investment Company Institute — and pulled in a record $1.50 trillion in net inflows over the year, per ETFGI. SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) led WealthyBud’s tracked funds with a 110.5% 1-year return.
Key takeaways
- WealthyBud tracks 28 ETFs spanning 7 issuers and 22 fund categories, with expense ratios and returns as of 2026-07-10.
- The U.S. ETF market held $13.4 trillion in net assets across 4,495 funds at year-end 2025 — 70% of the $19.2 trillion in ETF assets worldwide — per the Investment Company Institute’s 2026 Fact Book.
- U.S. ETFs pulled in a record $1.50 trillion in net inflows in 2025, pushing industry assets to $13.43 trillion, per ETFGI.
- Expense ratios among WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs range from 0.03% (6 funds tied, including AGG) to 0.49% (HYG); the median is 0.09%.
- SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) posted the best 1-year return at 110.5%; TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) posted the worst at -2.5% — a 112.9% spread.
- 6 of 28 tracked ETFs (21.4%) posted a negative 1-year return, and all 6 are bond or income funds.
- Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock issue 24 of the 28 ETFs WealthyBud tracks (85.7%); nationally, the same three firms hold 72.1% of U.S. ETF industry assets, per ETFGI.
How many ETFs does WealthyBud track, and how big is the U.S. ETF industry?
WealthyBud tracks 28 ETFs across 7 issuers, as of 2026-07-10. The broader U.S. ETF industry held $13.4 trillion in net assets across 4,495 funds at year-end 2025, per the Investment Company Institute, and equaled 30% of all U.S. investment-company assets.
1. WealthyBud tracks 28 ETFs
WealthyBud’s fund dataset covers 28 exchange-traded funds across 22 categories — broad index, sector, bond, dividend and commodity funds — as of 2026-07-10 (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
2. U.S. ETF industry net assets: $13.4 trillion across 4,495 funds (year-end 2025)
The U.S. ETF market remained the largest in the world at year-end 2025, holding $13.4 trillion in total net assets across 4,495 funds — 70% of the $19.2 trillion in ETF net assets worldwide, per the Investment Company Institute’s 2026 Investment Company Fact Book.
3. ETFs equal 30% of U.S. investment-company assets
Total net assets in ETFs accounted for 30% of assets managed by U.S. investment companies at year-end 2025, per the same ICI Fact Book, up from a low single-digit share two decades ago.
4. Large-cap domestic equity ETFs hold $5.0 trillion, or 38% of industry net assets
Large-cap U.S. equity ETFs made up $5.0 trillion of the $13.4 trillion U.S. ETF market at year-end 2025, while bond ETFs held $2.2 trillion (17%), per the ICI Fact Book — the two largest slices of the industry.
What do ETF expense ratios look like?
Expense ratios across WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs range from 0.03% to 0.49%, with a median of 0.09% and a mean of 0.14%. 6 funds tie for the cheapest, spanning both broad stock-index and core bond-index funds.
5. Cheapest expense ratio: 0.03%, tied across 6 funds
AGG, BND, IVV, VEA, VOO, VTI all charge 0.03% — the lowest expense ratio among WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs, as of 2026-07-10 (WealthyBud data).
6. Priciest expense ratio: 0.49% (HYG)
HYG (iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF), a High-yield bonds fund, carries the highest expense ratio WealthyBud tracks at 0.49% as of 2026-07-10 (WealthyBud data).
7. Median expense ratio: 0.09%
Half of the 28 tracked ETFs charge 0.09% or less; the mean is higher, at 0.14%, because a handful of pricier sector and bond funds pull the average up (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
| Ticker | Fund | Category | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGG | iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF | US total bond | 0.03% |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | US total bond | 0.03% |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | US large-cap blend | 0.03% |
| VEA | Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | Developed intl | 0.03% |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | US large-cap blend | 0.03% |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | US total market | 0.03% |
Which ETFs have had the best and worst returns?
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) posted the best 1-year return among WealthyBud’s tracked ETFs, at 110.5%, while TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) posted the worst, at -2.5% — a 112.9% spread. The median 1-year return across all 28 funds is 16.6%.
8. Best 1-year return: SMH at 110.5%
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF), a Semiconductors fund, returned 110.5% over the trailing year as of 2026-07-10 — the top performer among WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs (WealthyBud data).
9. Worst 1-year return: TLT at -2.5%
TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF), a Long-term Treasuries fund, returned -2.5% over the trailing year as of 2026-07-10 — the weakest of the 28 tracked funds (WealthyBud data).
10. 1-year return spread: 112.9% between best and worst
The gap between SMH and TLT is 112.9%, showing how much 1-year performance diverges across category — semiconductors versus long-term Treasuries (WealthyBud data · 2026-07-10).
11. Median 1-year return: 16.6%
Across all 28 tracked ETFs, the median 1-year return is 16.6%, the 3-year median (annualized) is 15.0%, and the 5-year median (annualized) is 7.0% (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
12. 6 of 28 tracked ETFs posted a negative 1-year return
6 funds — TLT, LQD, HYG, BND, AGG, JEPI — lost value over the trailing year, and every one is a bond or income fund, reflecting a tough stretch for fixed income (WealthyBud data · 2026-07-10).
| Ticker | Fund | Category | 1-yr return | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | Semiconductors | 110.5% | 0.35% |
| XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR | US technology | 41.6% | 0.09% |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | US large-cap growth | 27.2% | 0.20% |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | US small-cap blend | 25.9% | 0.19% |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR | US energy | 21.9% | 0.09% |
- TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) returned -2.5% over the trailing year, in the Long-term Treasuries category.
- LQD (iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) returned -2.1% over the trailing year, in the IG corporate bonds category.
- HYG (iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF) returned -1.4% over the trailing year, in the High-yield bonds category.
- BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) returned -1.4% over the trailing year, in the US total bond category.
- AGG (iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF) returned -1.4% over the trailing year, in the US total bond category.
- JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF) returned -0.7% over the trailing year, in the US equity income category.
Compare expense ratios and returns across every ETF WealthyBud tracks
Which issuers dominate the ETF market?
Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock issue 24 of the 28 ETFs WealthyBud tracks (85.7%), out of 7 issuers total. Nationally, ETFGI reports the same three firms hold 72.1% of the entire $13.43 trillion U.S. ETF industry.
13. Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock issue 85.7% of tracked funds
24 of the 28 ETFs WealthyBud tracks come from Vanguard, State Street or BlackRock; the remaining 4 come from 4 smaller issuers (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
14. Nationally, the top 3 U.S. ETF issuers hold 72.1% of industry assets
iShares (29.7% share), Vanguard (28.7%) and State Street SPDR (13.7%) together held 72.1% of the $13.43 trillion U.S. ETF industry at year-end 2025, among 460 total providers, per ETFGI’s year-end 2025 report, published January 19, 2026.
- Vanguard issues 10 of the 28 tracked ETFs, including VUG, VOO, VTI.
- State Street issues 7 of the 28 tracked ETFs, including XLK, XLE, GLD.
- BlackRock issues 7 of the 28 tracked ETFs, including IVV, IWM, EFA.
How volatile are the ETFs WealthyBud tracks?
BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) is the least volatile ETF WealthyBud tracks, with annualized volatility near 6.3%, while SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) is the most volatile at 34.0%. The median across all 28 funds is 15.9%.
15. Least volatile: BND at 6.3%
BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF), a US total bond fund, has the lowest annualized volatility WealthyBud tracks, 6.3%, measured from monthly price moves (WealthyBud data · 2026-07-10).
16. Most volatile: SMH at 34.0%
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF), a Semiconductors fund, has the highest annualized volatility in the dataset, 34.0% — more than 5 times BND’s (WealthyBud data · 2026-07-10).
17. Median volatility: 15.9%
Across all 28 tracked ETFs, annualized volatility has a median of 15.9%, with bond funds clustering near the bottom and single-sector equity funds like semiconductors near the top (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
What this means for ETF investors
Scale keeps compounding. A $13.4 trillion industry pulling in a record $1.50 trillion in a single year means ETFs are no longer a niche wrapper — they equal nearly a third of all U.S. investment-company assets, per the ICI and ETFGI.
Cost still separates funds more than skill. WealthyBud’s 0.09% median expense ratio versus a 0.49% high shows most fee dispersion comes from a small group of niche funds, not the broad index core.
A single year of returns is noisy. SMH’s 110.5% run and TLT’s -2.5% slide are both category-driven, not issuer-driven — semiconductors had a strong year and long-duration bonds did not.
Concentration cuts both ways. Three issuers control roughly 86% of WealthyBud’s tracked funds and 72.1% of the national market — scale keeps costs low, but most investors’ ETF exposure runs through a handful of firms.