These 10 ETFs Gained the Most Assets in 2021: ETFGI

By Bernice Napach

News January 18, 2022 at 05:49 PM

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U.S. ETF assets and net inflows soared in 2021, according to ETFGI, a global independent research and consulting firm covering exchange-traded funds and products.

A record net $919.78 billion flowed into U.S. ETFs and ETPs last year, more than double the prior record set in 2020, lifting total assets to $7.21 trillion, up almost 32% from a year ago. Passive index funds collected 89% of the net new flows for 2021. Those 12 months capped 28 consecutive months of consecutive ETF/ETP inflows.

ETFGI chart on ETF/ETP growth Equity index products accounted for 60% of the net inflows for 2021 and fixed income index funds (19%). The remainder included active funds (11%), which includes stock and bond ETFs, and commodities (1.2%).

BlackRock's iShares, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors accounted for almost 79% of all ETF/ETP assets as of year-end 2021. iShares' $2.47 trillion had just over a 34% market share followed by Vanguard's $2.1 trillion (29%) and State Street's SPDRs, $1.1 trillion, a 15.4% market share.

But Vanguard had six of the top 10 funds collecting net new assets in 2021, as the chart below shows. iShares had two of the top 10, and State Street and Invesco had one each.