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 price return of 14.5%, as of 2026-10-02. 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 92.6% 1-year price return.
Key takeaways
- WealthyBud tracks 28 ETFs spanning 7 issuers and 22 fund categories, with expense ratios and returns as of 2026-10-02.
- 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% (8 funds tied, including AGG) to 0.49% (HYG); the median is 0.08%.
- SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) posted the best 1-year price return at 92.6%; TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) posted the worst at -13.2% — a 105.9-percentage-point spread.
- 8 of 28 tracked ETFs (28.6%) posted a negative 1-year price return, and 6 are bond or income funds and the other 2 are VNQ, in the US REITs category and XLF, in the US financials category.
- 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 2026-10-02. 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 2026-10-02 (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 0.08% and a mean of 0.13%. 8 funds tie for the cheapest, spanning both broad stock-index and core bond-index funds.
5. Cheapest expense ratio: 0.03%, tied across 8 funds
AGG, BND, IVV, VEA, VOO, VTI, VTV, VUG all charge 0.03% — the lowest expense ratio among WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs, as of 2026-10-02 (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 2026-10-02 (WealthyBud data).
7. Median expense ratio: 0.08%
Half of the 28 tracked ETFs charge 0.08% or less; the mean is higher, at 0.13%, 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 U.S. 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 Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | US total market | 0.03% |
| VTV | Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | US large-cap value | 0.03% |
| VUG | Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | US large-cap growth | 0.03% |
Which ETFs have had the best and worst returns?
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) posted the best 1-year price return among WealthyBud’s tracked ETFs, at 92.6%, while TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) posted the worst, at -13.2% — a 105.9-percentage-point spread. The median 1-year price return across all 28 funds is 14.5%.
Returns on this page are price returns: the change in fund price, with distributions excluded, so they understate total return for funds that pay income. Price returns run from a month-end close to the October 2, 2026 price and are annualized over the actual days: the one-year figure covers September 30, 2025 to October 2, 2026, the 3-year figure September 29, 2023 to October 2, 2026 and the 5-year figure September 30, 2021 to October 2, 2026. The last complete month-end is September 30, 2026, and the one-year figure will not match an issuer's month-end one-year return. Volatility uses the last 60 complete monthly price returns.
8. Best 1-year price return: SMH at 92.6%
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF), a Semiconductors fund, had a price return of 92.6% over the trailing year as of 2026-10-02 — the top performer among WealthyBud’s 28 tracked ETFs (WealthyBud data).
9. Worst 1-year price return: TLT at -13.2%
TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF), a Long-term Treasuries fund, had a price return of -13.2% over the trailing year as of 2026-10-02 — the weakest of the 28 tracked funds (WealthyBud data).
10. 1-year price return spread: 105.9 percentage points between best and worst
The gap between SMH and TLT is 105.9 percentage points, showing how much 1-year performance diverges across category — semiconductors versus long-term treasuries (WealthyBud data · 2026-10-02).
11. Median 1-year price return: 14.5%
Across all 28 tracked ETFs, the median 1-year price return is 14.5%, the 3-year median price return (annualized) is 15.7%, and the 5-year median price return (annualized) is 7.2% (WealthyBud data · 28 ETFs).
12. 8 of 28 tracked ETFs posted a negative 1-year price return
8 funds — TLT, LQD, AGG, BND, HYG, VNQ, JEPI, XLF — had a negative price return over the trailing year, and 6 are bond or income funds and the other 2 are VNQ, in the US REITs category and XLF, in the US financials category (WealthyBud data · 2026-10-02).
| Ticker | Fund | Category | 1-yr price return | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | Semiconductors | 92.6% | 0.35% |
| XLK | State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | US technology | 41.5% | 0.08% |
| XLE | State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | US energy | 40.7% | 0.08% |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | US large-cap growth | 24.7% | 0.18% |
| SCHD | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | US dividend equity | 19.8% | 0.06% |
- TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) had a price return of -13.2% over the trailing year, in the Long-term Treasuries category.
- LQD (iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) had a price return of -8.6% over the trailing year, in the IG corporate bonds category.
- AGG (iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF) had a price return of -6.0% over the trailing year, in the US total bond category.
- BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) had a price return of -5.9% over the trailing year, in the US total bond category.
- HYG (iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF) had a price return of -5.2% over the trailing year, in the High-yield bonds category.
- VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF) had a price return of -2.1% over the trailing year, in the US REITs category.
- JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF) had a price return of -1.7% over the trailing year, in the US equity income category.
- XLF (State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF) had a price return of -0.7% over the trailing year, in the US financials 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, EFA, IWM.
How volatile are the ETFs WealthyBud tracks?
BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) is the least volatile ETF WealthyBud tracks, with annualized volatility near 6.4%, while SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) is the most volatile at 34.8%. The median across all 28 funds is 15.8%.
15. Least volatile: BND at 6.4%
BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF), a US total bond fund, has the lowest annualized volatility WealthyBud tracks, 6.4%, measured from monthly price moves (WealthyBud data · 2026-10-02).
16. Most volatile: SMH at 34.8%
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF), a Semiconductors fund, has the highest annualized volatility in the dataset, 34.8% — 5.4 times BND’s (WealthyBud data · 2026-10-02).
17. Median volatility: 15.8%
Across all 28 tracked ETFs, annualized volatility has a median of 15.8%, ranging from BND (US total bond) at 6.4% to SMH (Semiconductors) at 34.8% (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 0.08% 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 92.6% price return and TLT’s -13.2% price return are both category-driven, not issuer-driven — the semiconductors category had the strongest year of the tracked group and the long-term treasuries category the weakest.
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.
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