The Largest U.S. Mutual Funds
We present the 10 largest mutual funds in the United States ranked by assets under management (AUM). The list is dominated by one of the giants in the industry, privately held asset manager, Vanguard.
Vanguard was founded by the legendary John Bogle, who also created the index fund. Index funds arguably took over the industry because of their advantages. According to John Bogle,
“Index funds eliminate the risks of individual stocks, market sectors, and manager selection. Only stock market risk remains.”
Today, Vanguard is the biggest mutual fund company and number two for ETFs. Besides Vanguard, Fidelity and American Funds funds are found in the list of the largest mutual funds. Capital Group owns American Funds and is smaller than Vanguard and Fidelity.
Fidelity was founded by Edward C. Johnson II, an equally famous investor. The family still manages and controls the firm with a 49% ownership stake. Peter Lynch worked as the Fidelity Magellan Fund manager, which was the largest fund at one time.
We exclude exchange-traded funds (ETFs), money markets, and cash funds from this list. But if we added these categories, Fidelity would have several more funds on the list.
We list mutual funds by their total portfolio net assets and the share class. Thus, the AUM values may differ from other sites. The biggest mutual fund has over $1 trillion in total assets.
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The Largest Mutual Funds Photo Credit: Deposit Photos
1. Vanguard Total Stocks Market Index Fund
The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) is a large equity mutual fund. The underlying index mirrors the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. Because it is an index fund, the expense ratio is low at 0.04% for the Admiral Shares. Other share classes have slightly higher percentages.
It owns many tech stocks like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, NVIDIA, etc. In addition, the fund holds 3,895 small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap stocks in total. However, because the tracking index is market-cap weighted, the fund can be considered in the large-cap category.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Health Care, which combined makeup 55% of the fund.
- Total Net Assets: $1.3 trillion
- Total Admiral AUM: $289.7 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.04%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
2. Vanguard 500 Index Fund
The Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX) is the second largest equity mutual fund. It follows the S&P 500 Index, providing exposure to the 500 largest companies in U.S. stock exchanges. The low-cost Admiral shares have an expense ratio of only 0.04%, while other share classes are more costly.
Market-weighting means the stocks with the most significant representation are tech and growth stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, Meta Platforms, etc. The fund owns 505 stocks, and most are large-cap with a smattering of mid-caps.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Health Care, and Financials equaling 53.3% of the fund.
- Total Net Assets: $820.7 billion
- Total Admiral AUM: $398.5 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.04%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
3. Fidelity 500 Index Fund
Fidelity offers a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, the Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX). It is the asset manager’s largest mutual fund, although Geode Capital Management manages it. Moreover, it is even lower cost than Vanguard’s cheapest fund with a minimal expense ratio of 0.015%.
FXAIX owns 506 holdings that match the S&P 500 Index. Like the Vanguard version, market-cap weighting means mega-cap and large-cap stocks are primarily found here. The top 10 stocks range from Apple to United Healthcare.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Health Care, and Financials totaling 53.1% of the fund.
- Total Net Assets: $388.6 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.015%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
4. Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VTIAX) is the first non-U.S. fund. It is also the largest international fund on the list of largest mutual funds. The fund mirrors the Spliced Total International Index. Because VTIAX invests in non-U.S. stocks, the expense ratio is higher than domestic funds at 0.11% for the Admiral Shares.
Total holdings number 7,972. VTIAX owns diverse companies, like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Nestle S.A., Tencent, Novo Nordisk, and LMVH Moet Hennessy Louis Vitton SE. Approximately 41.7% of exposure is from Europe, followed by 26.2% in the Pacific and 24.5% in Emerging Markets.
- Total Net Assets: $373.9 billion
- Total Admiral AUM: $70.2 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.11%
- Category: International Stock
5. Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
The first bond fund on the list of largest mutual funds is the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBLTX). The fund tracks the Spliced Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. Bond funds usually have low expense ratios, and VBLTX is no exception, with a value of 0.05%. A sister fund, Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index (VTBIX), mirrors the same index but has a 0.095% expense ratio.
This fixed income fund owns 10,375 bonds, less than the 13,285 in the index. It has a 4.3% yield-to-maturity with an average coupon of 2.9%. The portfolio’s average duration is 6.5 years, and the average effective maturity is 8.9 years, making it an intermediate-term bond fund.
At 67.4% of assets, U.S. Government Treasuries are the largest holding. The remainder of the bonds have an investment-grade credit rating of BBB or higher and are typically corporate or mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
- Total Net Assets: $297.9 billion
- Total Admiral AUM: $98.7 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.05%
- Category: Intermediate-Term Bond
6. The Growth Fund of America
One of the leading actively managed mutual funds is the American Funds Growth Fund of America (AGTHX). It seeks to invest in growth, cyclical, or turnaround stocks for the significant potential of capital growth. The various classes of this fund combine to give it total assets greater than $200 billion. Because it is actively managed, the expense ratio is higher at 0.60%.
The fund is more concentrated than index funds, with ~354+ companies in its portfolio. However, the top 10 stocks by weighting are similar to the S&P 500 Index funds. For example, AGHTX owns Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Amazon, and other high-market capitalization stocks.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Health Care, adding up to 53.3% of the fund’s assets.
- Total Net Assets: $213.9 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.60%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
7. American Balanced Fund
The American Balanced Fund (ABALX) is the second offering from American Funds and the first balanced fund on this list. This fund is more income-oriented than its sibling and keeps between 50% and 75% of assets in growth and dividend equities and the remainder in bonds. But the expense ratio is slightly lower at 0.57%.
Stock holdings include Microsoft, Broadcom, United Health Group, and Philip Morris International. While the bond sleeve is majority U.S. Treasuries and AAA-rated, with the rest as investment-grade and a fractional amount of non-investment grade and unrated.
The three largest stock sectors are Information Technology, Health Care, and Financials adding up to 28.3% of the fund’s assets.
- Total Net Assets: $213.9 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.60%
- Category: Balanced
8. Vanguard Wellington
As active funds go, Vanguard Wellington (VWELX) comes with an excellent pedigree and a lengthy history. The fund was founded in 1929 and is the oldest balanced fund. Today it is offered by Vanguard but still managed by the Wellington Management Company in Boston, MA. Although VWELX is an active fund, the expense ratio is nominal at 0.25%. The Admiral shares are even less at 0.17% but have a $50k investment minimum.
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Wellington is roughly divided into two-thirds stocks and one-third bonds. But the fund is concentrated with 82 equities. It owns names like Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, and Progressive. The fixed income portion is comprised of 1,222 bonds that are mainly investment-grade corporates. The average yield to maturity is 4.8%, and the average duration is 7.0 years.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Health Care, and Consumer Discretionary equaling 48.2% of the fund’s assets.
- Total Net Assets: $104.6 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.25%
- Category: Balanced
9. Fidelity Contrafund
The second Fidelity fund on this list of largest mutual funds is Contrafund (FCNTX). Will Danoff has successfully run this fund since 1990? Fidelity Contrafund invests in large-cap growth stocks with competitive advantages and above-average earnings growth. The expense ratio is moderate, too, at only 0.55%.
Fidelity Contrafund is relatively concentrated, with 359 holdings in its portfolio. The top 10 include names such as Meta Platforms, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. Besides tech and growth stocks, the fund owns R&D-based pharma companies, like Eli Lilly and Regeneron, in the top 10.
The three largest sectors are Information Technology, Communication Services, and Financials, totaling 55.2%% of the AUM.
- Total Net Assets: $100.6 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.55%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
10. Dodge & Cox Stock Fund
The tenth mutual fund on this list is the Dodge & Cox Stock Fund, a large fund from a smaller asset manager. According to the website, the fund seeks long-term growth of principal and income, with a secondary focus on achieving a reasonable current income. The cost is low, too, with an expense ratio of only 0.51%.
Dodge & Cox runs a concentrated portfolio of only 72 companies, but it has been successful over extended periods. Moreover, the top 10 stocks do not mirror the usual tech and growth ones. The top few holdings include Occidental Petroleum, Alphabet, Sanofi, Wells Fargo, and Charles Schwab.
Financials, Health Care, and Information Technology are the three largest sectors, totaling 58.8%% of total assets.
- Total Net Assets: $100.6 billion
- Expense Ratio: 0.55%
- Category: Large-Cap Equity
Disclosure: The author owns a few of these funds.
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