Top Equity ETFs: Best Funds for Pure Stock Exposure
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), launched on January 22, 1993, was the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund ever created. Born from a collaboration between State Street Global Advisors and AMEX — partly inspired by the desire to build a broad-market vehicle after the 1987 crash — SPY remains the most heavily traded ETF in the world more than three decades later.
Equity ETFs invest in publicly traded stocks and trade throughout the day on exchanges, much like individual shares. They differ from traditional mutual funds, which can only be bought or sold at a single end-of-day price. Equity ETFs can be categorized by geography, market cap, sector, dividend focus, or investment style — making them one of the most widely used fund types available.
The biggest equity ETFs by category:
- S&P 500 trackers: SPY (State Street), VOO (Vanguard), and IVV (BlackRock iShares) — all three track the S&P 500 Index, which captures roughly 85% of the U.S. equity market.
- Total U.S. market: VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) goes further by holding more than 3,500 stocks across large-, mid-, and small-cap segments.
- Nasdaq-focused: QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) tracks the Nasdaq 100, consisting of the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq.
- Factor and smart-beta funds: These apply style-based filters such as value, momentum, quality, small-size tilt, or minimum volatility.
- Sector and geographic ETFs: Focused funds target specific industries like technology or healthcare, or specific regions including developed and emerging markets.
One structural quirk worth noting: SPY is legally set up as a unit investment trust with a defined termination date of January 22, 2118. VOO and IVV, by contrast, are structured as standard open-ended ETFs. QQQ recently completed its own conversion from a unit investment trust to a standard ETF structure.
Equity ETFs generally offer higher tax efficiency than open-end mutual funds, thanks to their in-kind creation and redemption process. For a broader look at all fund types, see our complete list of ETFs.
Regulated brokerThe table below lists top equity ETFs ranked by assets and trading volume, with live data on prices, expense ratios, and fund size updated daily.
| Stock | Price | Change % | 52 Week Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| $733.83 | 1.39% | ||
| $737.41 | 1.43% | ||
| $674.66 | 1.41% | ||
| $361.86 | 1.36% | ||
| $695.77 | 2.09% | ||
| $70.87 | 2.74% | ||
| $85.90 | 1.89% | ||
| $97.92 | 2.61% | ||
| $207.94 | 0.69% | ||
| $99.19 | 0.43% | ||
| $73.55 | 0.42% | ||
| $122.44 | 1.69% | ||
| $74.62 | 1.84% | ||
| $82.55 | 2.99% | ||
| $60.75 | 2.34% | ||
| $138.93 | 0.59% | ||
| $229.82 | 0.41% | ||
| $85.62 | 2.65% | ||
| $109.56 | 2.57% | ||
| $78.20 | 0.64% | ||
| $430.96 | 3.03% | ||
| $170.03 | 2.66% | ||
| $286.80 | 1.50% | ||
| $204.85 | 0.79% | ||
| $31.66 | 0.09% |
