Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in the United States rose 23.6% to a record high of US$5.47 trillion at the end of 2020. In December ETFs and ETPs listed in the US attracted net inflows of US$63.49 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$490.19 billion and surpassing the prior record of US$468.25 billion set in 2017, according to data from leading independent research and consultancy firm ETFGI.

Equity ETFs and ETPs, followed by fixed income, attracted the highest net inflows in 2020 with US$205.96 billion and US$176.40 billion respectively.

“The S&P 500 was up 3.8% for December and finished the year at an all-time high, having added 18.4% for the year.  Developed ex-US gained 5.5% during December, concluding 2020 up 11.1%.  The S&P Emerging Broad Market Index gained 6.1% in December, finishing 2020 up 15.5%,” says ETFGI managing partner and founder Deborah Fuhr.

The ETF and ETP industry in the US had 2,413 ETFs and ETPs, assets of US$5.47 trillion, from 178 providers listed on three exchanges at the end of 2020.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered US$40.57 billion in December. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF alone gathered US$5.28 billion.