Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

The first ETF launched 30 years ago, revolutionizing investing

The first ETF launched 30 years ago, revolutionizing investing

Industry is bringing more exotic trading strategies to the masses

Thirty years ago, the launch of the first exchange-traded fund ushered in a new era of investing. Now, the industry is bringing exotic trading strategies to the masses.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the benchmark U.S. stock index, gave investors the ability to buy and sell hundreds of stocks through a single, publicly traded share for the first time.

The SPDR ETF and the funds that followed popularized the idea of simply following the market, a strategy known as passive investing.


A trader looks at his screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange June 29, 2010. Investors fled the U.S. stock market on Tuesday and the S&P 500 tumbled to its lowest level in eight months in a sell-off triggered by a wave of increasin

Today, there are ETFs tracking dozens of asset classes, sectors and investing themes. The funds are favored for their low fees and advantageous tax structure compared with traditional mutual funds. Their popularity continues to grow, even in the midst of a bear market.

Few could have predicted the SPDR fund’s impact when it launched on Jan. 22, 1993.

"At the time, it was not a watershed moment, but it’s now hard to imagine investing without ETFs," said Todd Rosenbluth, an industry veteran and head of research at VettaFi. "A whole generation of investors only thinks about using ETFs to get diversified exposure. They’ve opened up markets that previously were harder to obtain access to."

The industry is quickly expanding to include active management and more exotic investing products like leveraged and inverse funds. Proponents say the suite of cheap investing options has helped democratize investing. Others, noting the fast growth of risky ETFs that use leverage to amplify both returns and losses, are sounding the alarm about the potential fallout for inexperienced investors.

For years, ETFs have gained ground on mutual funds, the traditional broad-based investment option still favored by 401(k) retirement plans. That trend accelerated in 2022. U.S. ETFs took in almost $600 billion on a net basis in 2022, second only to 2021’s record inflow, according to data from Morningstar Direct. Investors pulled nearly $1 trillion from mutual funds. That marked the largest gap in flows between the funds on record.
Michael Sapir, CEO of ProShares, rings the opening bell celebrating ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF trading as BITO on the NYSE Arca, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid


To be sure, ETFs aren’t on track to overtake mutual funds soon. ETFs had $6.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2022, versus $16.3 trillion for mutual funds. The SPDR ETF, best known by its ticker symbol SPY, remains the largest ETF, a behemoth with roughly $370 billion in assets.

Most ETFs are similar to index-tracking mutual funds, with several key advantages. ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, unlike mutual funds, which price once daily at market close.


Perhaps most important, their fees are significantly lower. The average expense ratio for index equity ETFs was 0.16% in 2021, or $16 annually per $10,000 of investment funds, compared with 0.47% for equity mutual funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Last year’s market selloff likely provided a reminder for investors to reassess their portfolios, leading to further adoption of ETFs, said Matthew Bartolini, head of SPDR research at State Street Global Advisors, the asset manager behind SPY.

"When you have underperforming active managers with a high fee, and you’re getting hit with a capital-gains tax, that’s going to lead people to leave," Mr. Bartolini said.

The downturn gave savvy investors an opportunity for tax-loss harvesting—selling funds to realize a loss and writing it off for tax purposes. A popular tax-loss harvesting strategy is to sell a mutual fund and quickly purchase an ETF with similar holdings. That practice, known as a wrapper swap, allows investors to realize a loss for tax purposes while staying invested.

Also driving growth in ETFs is the emergence of active strategies and other new products. Passive strategies still made up 95% of the ETF market in 2022, according to Morningstar. But of the 431 new ETFs launched, more than half were active strategies, according to Mr. Rosenbluth. Active funds took in 15% of total ETF flows last year, nearing $100 billion, a record for active strategies.

Popular active ETFs include Cathie Wood‘s ARK Innovation, an active fund that invests in "disruptive" companies, primarily unprofitable firms in the tech sector. Shares of the fund, a favorite among individual investors that soared during the pandemic, plunged 67% in 2022.

Trader Gregory Rowe, center, and others work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 16, 2020.


Yet despite the poor performance, investors continued to pour funds into ARK. Individual investors showed similar interest in other speculative ETF offerings, including leveraged funds, raising concern over whether the industry is making it too easy for individuals to make risky bets.

For example, the Direxion Daily TSLA Bear 1x Shares ETF, launched in August, aims to provide the exact inverse performance of Tesla Inc. shares. The ETF is the first based around a single stock, according to Mr. Bartolini of State Street. It is the latest example of ETFs allowing widespread access to the kind of trade that once was reserved for institutional or high-net-worth investors with access to Wall Street dealers.

"I hope for the sake of the investors who are using leveraged funds, they really have done their homework and understand the risks that are inherent with these products," said Elisabeth Kashner, director of global funds research at FactSet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×