Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF VOO has surpassed $1 trillion in assets, the first ETF to
reach that scale and a record for passive investing. The fund charges 0.03%,
well below major rivals. Asset growth reflects US AI-driven equity demand and
continued global flows into low-cost passive products. Market commentators note
recent index rule changes — S&P 500's new-issue waiting period cut from 12 to 6
months and Nasdaq's expedited IPO inclusion — will allow large passive funds to
allocate to heavyweight upcoming listings such as SpaceX and ANTHROPIC sooner;
if those firms are fast-tracked into broad indexes, funds like VOO would be
required under index rules to increase holdings. Vanguard reported roughly
$12.32 trillion in AUM at end-Q1 2026 and operates a fund-shareholder-owned
structure, positioning it alongside BlackRock and State Street among US
asset-management leaders.
