$41.1 billion

Amount investors have poured into the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF so far this year

One of Vanguard’s exchange-traded funds has just taken the crown for the biggest annual inflow, giving the issuer an edge over competitors within the $6.8 trillion US industry.

The amount has surpassed the 2008 record of $39.5 billion held by State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY). Vanguard also issued the next four ETFs with the most inflows this year, as of data reported yesterday.

“It just shows the continued rise and utter dominance of Vanguard,” said Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “2008 was the year that made ETFs, because people saw they could handle a real crisis and provide liquidity,” he said.