What Is The Most Popular ETF?The question “What is the most popular ETF?” gets asked pretty frequently online. While it seems like it should be a simple, straightforward answer – it really comes down to your definition of “popular”.

For example, to one person popular might mean “the ETF with the largest amount of net assets” and to another person it might mean “the ETF that gets the most buzz among trading professionals”.

For the purposes of this article, we are going to consider popularity based on trading volume – and we will rank the funds based on their average 90 day trading volume.

The Most Popular ETFs (as of July 9, 2019)

GLD ETF Fund

1. SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF)

The infamous SPY ETF tracks the yield performance of the S&P 500 index. The fund holds a portfolio of common stocks that are included in the index, and they are weighted based on their market cap. Current 90 day average volume of 71,474,367 as of publishing.

GLD ETF Fund

2. EEM (iShares MSCI Emerging Markets)

This ETF tracks the investment results of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.  It invests at least 90% of assets in securities within this underlying index.  The geographic objective is Emerging Markets with a focus on Broad / Multi cap companies. At the time of publishing, 90 day average volume is at 67,102,176.

GLD ETF Fund

3. XLF (Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund)

This ETF is a non-leveraged, passively managed equity ETF using the underlying benchmark of the S&P Financial Select Sector Index. The fund’s geographic objective is the United States with a focus on large cap companies in the financial sector. As of publishing, XLF’s 90 day average volume is at 50,587,433.

GLD ETF Fund

4. GDX (Vaneck Vectors Gold Miners ETF)

GDX is a non leveraged, passively managed equity ETF using the benchmark index of NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index.  It has a global geographic focus within the basic materials sector. The fund also focuses on broad / multi cap companies. As of publishing the 90 day average volume is at 43,285,355.

GLD ETF Fund

5. QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust)

QQQ is a popular ETF that is capitalization weighted, non leveraged and passively managed. The underlying benchmark index for QQQ is the Nasdaq 100 index. The ETF has a global geographic objective with a focus on multiple sectors and large cap companies. As of publishing the 90 day average volume is 33,905,956.

Keep in mind, the 5 most popular ETFs listed above are based on the 90 day average volume as of July 9, 2019.  This is bound to change over time, but is accurate as of now. Take a look at the table below to see some real-time performance data of these 5 popular ETFs.

ETF Jeff's Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

While many people are curious about which ETFs are the most popular, it’s debatable as to whether this information should matter much to you. Popular ETFs do have a lot of trading volume, but as always, this data is based on a historical look back period of 90 days.  Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As always, use caution and consult with professionals if you plan on buying ETFs.