The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO has made history as the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to surpass $1 trillion in assets under management. Vanguard confirmed that the milestone was reached on Jun 2, 2026 marking a landmark achievement for both the fund and the broader ETF industry.
Closer peers State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY currently has around $784.63 billion in assets while iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV boasts about $859.5 billion in assets.
Overtaking Rivals
VOO became the world's largest ETF 18 months ago after SPY, per Reuters. A strong rally in the S&P 500, which has gained roughly 10.4% this year, has further boosted the fund's asset base.
Low Costs & Higher Average Trading Volume Fuel Investor Demand
VOO's rapid asset growth has been fueled by investors seeking low-cost exposure to the U.S. stock market. The ETF charges an expense ratio of just 0.03%, significantly lower than the 0.09% fee charged by SPY.
Vanguard is always known for its low-cost offerings. This likely explains why VOO reached the $1 trillion milestone ahead of IVV, even though both ETFs charge an expense ratio of just 0.03%. IVV trades an average of 8 million shares daily, while VOO averages about 9 million. Higher trading volume typically narrows bid-ask spreads and lowers transaction costs for investors.
Lower Per-Share Price Attracted Small-Budget Retail Investors
As of June 3, 2026, IVV traded at $757.25 per share, while VOO was priced at $693.36. The lower share price may have made VOO more attractive to smaller investors, allowing them to buy more shares with the same amount of capital.
VOO's lower per-share price made it more accessible to small-budget investors, as a VOO share could be purchased for less than $700, while an IVV share cost more than $750.
More Trillion-Dollar S&P 500 ETFs Could Follow Soon: Here’s Why
While VOO is the first ETF to reach the $1 trillion mark, it may not remain alone for long. The current asset bases of IVV and SPY indicate that the day is not far off when those two funds will also hit the trillion-dollar mark.
The prospect of the S&P 500 is pretty bullish. Goldman Sachs Research boosted its S&P 500 forecast for year-end 2026 to 8000, up from 7600, projecting a 6% return (as of May 26, 2026).
Goldman strategists raised their earnings per share forecasts to $340 for 2026 (representing 24% annual growth) and $385 for 2027 (13% growth). AI-infrastructure beneficiaries are expected to make up for roughly half of the earnings growth this year.
The story doesn't end there. The valuation multiple for U.S. stocks is expected to remain flat at roughly 21 times earnings, according to Goldman Sachs, which we believe is not overly stretched. Historically, S&P 500 PE Ratio reached a record high of 131.391 and a record low of 5.31, the median value is 18.01, per Guru Focus.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
