U.S. ETFs $15.7T; DRAM ETF Hits $15B, 148 May Launches

U.S. exchange-traded funds held $15.7 trillion in assets at the end of May, with year-to-date inflows of $843 billion. The industry registered 148 new ETF launches in May, including a 37-fund rollout from Corgi Insurance Services. Active managers made up 87% of May debuts, up from roughly 80% in April.

Roundhill’s Memory ETF (DRAM) reached $6.5 billion faster than any ETF on record and crossed $15 billion within two months of launch. The fund focuses on memory chips and storage infrastructure used for artificial intelligence workloads, offering exposure distinct from technology funds that emphasize software and large-cap platform companies.

WisdomTree’s Strategic Metals and Rare Earths ETF (WDIG) pairs global mining equities with liquid commodity futures to provide both equity and commodity exposure in one vehicle.

Tuttle Capital Management’s Porter Portfolio Index ETF (PCPP) allocates evenly across four areas: property and casualty insurers, capital-efficient equities, hard assets including Bitcoin and precious metals, and cash equivalents. JPMorgan’s Managed Futures Plus ETF (JPFP) combines full U.S. equity exposure with a systematic managed-futures overlay.

Fixed-income developments included SEI’s conversion of a high-yield bond mutual fund into the SEI High Yield Bond & Alternative Credit ETF (LEND), which brought more than $1 billion of assets into an ETF wrapper. Franklin Templeton launched the Franklin BSP CLO ETF (YCLO), which maintains a flexible mandate across investment-grade tranches in U.S. and European markets rather than concentrating in AAA-rated pieces.

MFS introduced the Blended Research Small-Mid Cap ETF (BRSM) to apply institutional research to small- and mid-cap companies and the MFS Active International Value ETF (MIVL) to target foreign value opportunities.

Product filings for several new funds disclosed index licensing and provider relationships. Filings show VettaFi is the index provider for PCPP and receives an index licensing fee; VettaFi is not the issuer or sponsor of PCPP and has no obligation regarding the fund’s issuance, administration, marketing or trading.

May’s launches included thematic funds, multi-asset products and fixed-income conversions as managers brought niche strategies and alternative wrappers to the retail ETF market.