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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY | $746.74 | 1.04% | |
 iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV | $750.11 | 1.01% | |
 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO | $688.11 | 0.98% | |
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI | $369.99 | 1.16% | |
 Invesco QQQ Trust Series I QQQ | $740.62 | 2.51% | |
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF VEA | $72.31 | 0.96% | |
Vanguard Growth ETF VUG | $86.98 | 1.60% | |
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF IEFA | $97.29 | 0.50% | |
Vanguard Value ETF VTV | $216.50 | 0.19% | |
 iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF AGG | $98.90 | 0.29% | |
 Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF BND | $73.34 | 0.27% | |
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF IWF | $123.19 | 1.31% | |
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF IJH | $75.78 | 1.07% | |
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF IEMG | $85.63 | 3.14% | |
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO | $60.77 | 1.73% | |
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF IJR | $143.21 | 1.81% | |
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF VIG | $235.19 | 0.25% | |
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF VXUS | $86.77 | 0.72% | |
Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGT | $120.04 | 2.66% | |
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF VO | $80.10 | 0.70% | |
 SPDR Gold Shares GLD | $387.12 | 0.38% | |
 Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK | $191.44 | 3.04% | |
iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM | $295.59 | 1.97% | |
 Invesco S&P 500® Equal Weight ETF RSP | $209.96 | 0.46% | |
Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF SCHD | $31.86 | 0.22% |