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The largest ETF was also the first of the exchange traded funds. Standard & Poor's 500 Index Depository Receipts or SPDR was created in 1993 and is still the most popular in terms of trading activity.
Commonly referred to as "spiders", the fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors and tracks the S & P 500 index. The fund's assets are in excess of $ 60 million (US). It is considered a fairly inexpensive investment, although ETFs in general are less expensive than mutual and index funds.
Anyone would agree that the spiders are the largest ETFs, but the next fund on the list, the second largest and hidden ones, will vary depending on which list you look at. Right now, the NASDAQ-100 (QQQQ) is probably second, but just two years ago, it was third or fourth in terms of total assets, with less than $ 20 million (US).
Investors look at the QQQQ as a technology benchmark. Many of the stock holdings in the fund are software and telecommunications companies. A total of 100 different stocks are tracked in the index.
Diamonds Trust or DIA is one of the larger ETFs. It tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average and includes 30 "blue chip" American companies. Many investors consider the formula used by DIA to be antiquated, but it is still a popular choice.
Even the largest ETFs have been in the red over the last couple of years. DIA for example has fallen nearly 7% in the last three years.
Over the last year, Ultra Silver Proshares (AGQ), what would normally be called a "smaller" ETF, has experienced reliably large growth. The year-to-date return at the time of this writing was over 28%. Intra-day returns have been as high as 6.53 and the three month return was 3.85%.
Some of the funds managed by Barclays Bank (SGG, LD and JJS for example) have experienced phenomenal growth in recent months, but a lot of that is recouping from the "crash" that occurred last year. Still, short-term investors have made a lot of money with those funds.
VIPER or VTI is the largest in terms of the number of companies included in the portfolio. The value of VTI is used as a gauge for the US economy as a whole, because the majority of US-based publicly traded companies is included in the index. VTI is managed by the Vanguard Group.
There are literally hundreds of exchange traded funds. Some of the smaller funds have ceased to exist, as they have been unable to attract enough investors. But, there is always another to take its place.
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