The 20 Most Actively Traded ETFs

Trading in ETFs has exploded over the past few years, as a new generation of investors has come to the market and the number of funds has multiplied, offering exposure to just about every strategy imaginable.

What’s interesting, though, is that the most actively traded ETFs aren’t necessarily the biggest. Case in point is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO). It’s the only fund to cross $1 trillion in assets, yet it barely makes the top 10 in terms of daily dollar volume.

The fund that dominates trading is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the same index and was the largest ETF in the world for decades until VOO overtook it in 2025. It remains the runaway leader in activity, with almost $30 billion of the fund changing hands on Thursday.

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which follows the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100, is a juggernaut in its own right, with nearly $24 billion in dollar volume.

Actively Traded Tech ETFs

After QQQ there is a steep drop off, though tech remains popular. The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL) was the third most actively traded fund, with $7.6 billion changing hands. 

That is an enormous figure for a fund with only $22.5 billion in assets, a sign that SOXL is a trading vehicle above all else. The same is true of the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ), which traded $4.4 billion.

SOXL and TQQQ are leveraged instruments that traders use to get amplified exposure to tech, and to the AI trade in particular. But plenty of activity went into unleveraged semiconductor funds as well. 

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) each traded roughly $4 billion. The two funds track the chip stocks that have benefited most from the AI boom. 

The bearish versions drew heavy volume too, with the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (SOXS) and the ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) both landing in the top 20.

The chip theme extended overseas. The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) traded $2.9 billion, and the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which is heavily weighted toward Korean names, traded $2.8 billion. Both cracked the top 15, a reflection of how central Korean memory makers have become to the AI story.

Beyond Tech

Outside of tech, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) stood out with $4.9 billion, far and away the most actively traded small-cap fund. Small caps have had a strong year, rising 23% against 14% for large caps.

On the fixed income side, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), at $3.4 billion, and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), at $2.3 billion, drew the most activity. Bonds have performed poorly this year amid expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates to fight resurgent inflation.

Gold remained a draw as well. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), with $4.3 billion, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), with $2.1 billion, both made the list, even though the metal has had a fairly tepid year.

A more surprising entrant in the top 20 was the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), with almost $2 billion traded. The Dow is nowhere near as popular as the S&P 500 among traders or investors, but the fund still saw unusually strong activity.

For the 20 most actively traded ETFs by dollar volume, see the table below.