Brand, yield and veteran managers scale new ETFs

FactSet data show 42.3% of ETFs are less than three years old. Despite that, several recent funds have amassed multibillion-dollar assets before reaching a traditional three-year track record. Data through May 2026 show BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at about $67 billion, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at roughly $15.1 billion, NEOS’s Nasdaq 100 High Income ETF (QQQI) near $11 billion and T. Rowe Price’s Capital Appreciation Equity ETF (TCAF) around $7 billion. JPMorgan’s Global Select Equity ETF (JGLO) held about $7 billion.

IBIT launched in January 2024. BlackRock offered a reduced fee of 0.12% for the fund’s first 12 months before the expense ratio rose to 0.25%. FBTC carries a 0.25% expense ratio. Both funds provide direct exposure to spot bitcoin through an ETF structure and list standard expense ratios.

NEOS’s QQQI is a covered-call product on the Nasdaq 100 that targets income. The fund charges a 0.68% expense ratio and had gathered about $11 billion by May 2026. The fund’s structure emphasizes regular distributions while maintaining exposure to large-cap technology and growth stocks.

TCAF brought an established active equity strategy run by portfolio manager David Giroux into an ETF wrapper. TCAF charges a 0.31% expense ratio and held about $7 billion. JGLO reached about $7 billion after converting an existing strategy into an ETF and carries a 0.47% expense ratio.

Several issuers launched products with promotional pricing or converted existing mutual funds into ETFs, enabling new ETFs to begin with significant assets under management. Industry participants link the broader migration from mutual funds to ETFs to factors such as tax treatment, intraday liquidity and wider distribution channels.

Although many ETFs remain too young to receive some third-party ratings, the funds listed above had already attracted sizable allocations from advisory and institutional channels by May 2026.