According to the latest data from Cerulli Associates, the asset size of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the USA exceeded 10 trillion dollars for the first time in November. ETFs are a type of fund that invest in Stocks, Bonds, or other Assets and are traded on national stock exchanges. This month's ETF inflow reached 156 billion dollars, setting a new record for monthly inflows. Cerulli noted that this level of activity is comparable to the trading peak typically seen at the end of the year.

Research from Morningstar indicates that this growth was driven by the "Trump bump," with US Funds (including ETFs andMutual funds) attracting 115 billion dollars in inflows in November, the highest since April 2021.

The S&P 500 Index performed excellently in 2024.

As of this Monday, the S&P 500 Index has risen nearly 24% year-to-date in 2024. According to data analysis firm VettaFi, the strong performance of the "seven giants" stocks (Apple (AAPL.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.US, GOOG.US), Amazon (AMZN.US), NVIDIA (NVDA.US), Meta Platforms (META.US), and Tesla (TSLA.US)) has contributed nearly half of the index's annual increase.

According to Cerulli, 4 out of the top 10 ETFs in 2024 track the S&P 500 Index. Among them, Vanguard 500index fundsRanked first in annual inflow volume, followed closely by the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust, Invesco QQQ Trust, and the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund.

Malcolm Ethridge, founder and managing partner of Capital Area Planning Group and Certified Financial Planner, stated that he often uses the S&P 500 ETF in client portfolios because these ETFs provide investment access to large growth company stocks at significantly lower costs. For instance, actively managed funds may charge management fees of 50 to 75 basis points, while passive S&P 500 ETFs might 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) could outperform most fund managers by 2025.

Alternative ETFs are experiencing explosive growth.

Meanwhile, the net asset size of alternative ETFs exceeded $400 billion for the first time in November. According to Cerulli, the annual growth rate of assets in alternative ETFs reached 93%, ranking first among all asset classes.

Cerulli noted that about 80% (approximately $325 billion) of the total share of the alternative ETF market is composed of digital assets, leveraged stocks, and income ETFs from derivatives.

Although the average allocation of financial advisors to alternative Assets in portfolios is only 3.6% in 2024, this percentage is expected to increase. Among the existing allocation to alternative Assets, 14.4% is achieved through ETFs.

Cryptocurrency ETFs are "inevitable".

In January this year, Bitcoin ETFs began trading on USA Exchanges.

According to data from VettaFi, the current number of Digital Currency held by spot Bitcoin ETFs has exceeded the amount held by Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Despite the relatively "lackluster" performance of the spot Ethereum ETF since its launch this year, cryptocurrency ETFs have been considered "inevitable."

According to Cerulli, as of November, the top five newly added ETF Assets for 2024 are all Bitcoin ETFs, including the top-ranking 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.