U.S. Index ETFs

ETFs focusing on U.S. indices are some of the most popular and traded ETFs in the world. Not only are there a number of ETFs that attempt to replicate the returns of well-known indices such as the Dow 30, NASDAQ 100 and the S&P 500 but there are also a number of style/strategy ETFs based on companies within these indices. Here are a few notes on each of these sections to help you find the right ETF for you.

Dow: DIA is the only ETF is this category that focused on the DOW 30 and it is one of the most traded ETFs on U.S. exchanges. There are also a handful of leveraged and short ETFs that focus on the DOW 30 but there is not as broad of selection of ETFs overall as with some of the other categories.

NASDAQ: There is one NASDAQ Composite Index ETF but most of the ETFs in this category focus on the NASDAQ 100. The NASDAQ-100 is comprised of the largest companies listed on the NASDAQ with the exception of financial stocks. QQQ is the most traded ETF in this category.

Russell 1000: The Russell 1000 is designed to track the performance of the large-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. There are approximately 15 ETFs in this category including growth, value and volatility ETFs but there is a lack of leverage and short ETFs based on this index.

Russell 2000: The Russell 2000 focuses on the small-cap segment of the U.S. market. In addition to the ETFs that directly focus on replicating the returns of the index (IWM, TWOK, VTWO), there are also equal weight, growth, leveraged, short and value ETFs to choose from.

Russell 3000: The Russell 3000 represents nearly 98% of the U.S. equity market and there are currently three ETFs that focus on this index.

S&P 400: The S&P 400 is comprised of 400 mid-cap companies and there are around 20 ETFs focusing on this index on U.S. exchanges.

S&P 500: One of the most widely followed indices in the world is also home to the most ETFs in this category. The S&P is comprised of 500 of the largest U.S. companies and there are over 30 ETFs focusing on this well-known index. In addition to ETF styles that you can find in other categories in this section (growth, value, leverage, etc.) you can also find ETFs based on beta and volatility and a few dividend focused ETFs as well.

S&P 600: This is another well-known small-cap index that is designed to measure the performance of the small-cap U.S. stock market. Like the Russell 2000 ETFs, there is also a wide selection of ETFs to choose from covering most of the same ETF styles.

A full list of U.S. Index ETFS on U.S. exchanges can be found by scrolling down or you can access a list of the ETFS in each group by the links on this page