For the first time in history, the assets under management of US ETFs have surpassed the $10 trillion mark.

According to the latest data from Cerulli Associates, the assets under management of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the United States surpassed $10 trillion for the first time in November. ETFs are a type of fund that invests in stocks, bonds, or other assets and trades on national stock exchanges. The inflow into ETFs this month reached $156 billion, setting a new record for monthly inflows. Cerulli noted that this level of activity is in line with the trading peaks typically seen at the end of the year. Research from Morningstar indicates that this growth is being driven by the "Trump bump," with U.S. funds (including ETFs and mutual funds) attracting $115 billion in inflows in November, the highest level since April 2021. S&P 500 Index Performs Well in 2024 As of this Monday, the S&P 500 Index has risen by nearly 24% year-to-date in 2024. According to data analysis firm VettaFi, thanks to the strong performance of the "Big Seven" stocks (Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc. Class C, Amazon.com, Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Meta Platforms, and Tesla, Inc.), these seven stocks have contributed to almost half of the index's annual gain. According to Cerulli's data, 4 out of the top 10 ETFs in 2024 track the S&P 500 Index. The Vanguard 500 Index Fund topped the list for annual inflows, followed by iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust, Invesco QQQ Trust, and Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. Malcolm Ethridge, founder and managing partner of Capital Area Planning Group and a Certified Financial Planner, often uses S&P 500 ETFs in client portfolios because these ETFs provide exposure to large growth companies' stocks at significantly lower costs. For example, actively managed funds may charge 50 to 75 basis points in management fees, while passive S&P 500 ETFs may only charge 10 basis points. Ethridge believes that the S&P 500 Index may continue to perform well after rebalancing to reflect the current market leaders. He predicts that SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) may outperform most fund managers in 2025. Alternative ETFs Experience Explosive Growth Meanwhile, alternative ETFs saw their net assets surpass $400 billion for the first time in November. According to Cerulli's data, alternative ETFs have a 93% annual growth rate, ranking first among all asset classes. Cerulli pointed out that around 80% of the total market share of alternative ETFs, about $325 billion, comprises digital assets, leveraged stock trading, and derivative income ETFs. Despite financial advisors' average allocation of alternative assets in portfolios being only 3.6% in 2024, this percentage is expected to increase. 14.4% of alternative asset allocation is achieved through ETFs. Cryptocurrency ETFs Are "Inevitable" In January of this year, Bitcoin ETFs began trading on U.S. exchanges. VettaFi's data shows that the amount of digital currency held by the current physical Bitcoin ETFs exceeds that held by Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Although the launch of Ether ETF this year was "relatively subdued," cryptocurrency ETFs are seen as "inevitable." According to Cerulli's data, as of November, the top five new ETF assets of 2024 were all Bitcoin ETFs, including the top-ranked iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, followed by Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF, ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF.