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Passive Giants, Concentrated Power: What the Biggest Fund Managers Actually Own in 2025
Global ETFs have swelled to roughly $17–18 trillion and total asset management has reached a record $147 trillion in mid-2025, concentrating market influence in a handful of firms and a familiar set of mega-cap stocks.
Portfolio Parrot
October 13, 2025
Markets are a voting machine in the short run and a weighing machine in the long run. In 2025, a small group of firms does a lot of the weighing. BlackRock and Vanguard are not trying to outsmart the market as much as they are trying to be the market, and the market today looks a lot like Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and their peers. The arithmetic is simple. When passive money grows, the largest stocks become even larger. It is not a morality tale. It is just a matter of index math and cash flows.
Two scale facts set the stage. First, global ETF assets reached fresh records this summer, with industry AUM reported at around $17–18 trillion by late August 2025. Second, total assets managed by the industry reached approximately $147 trillion by the end of June 2025. Both figures underscore why a rebalance in Valley Forge or New York can ripple across everything from chipmakers to soaps.
Below is a firm-by-firm snapshot of the largest managers and the stocks that dominate their disclosed U.S. equity books. Figures reflect aggregated 13F holdings as of Q2 2025, where applicable, so the weights are approximate, U.S.-security only, and exclude many non-reportable positions. The overlap you see is the story.
The issuers behind the indices
BlackRock remains the largest asset manager globally at about $12.5 trillion AUM, driven by its iShares ETF franchise and a growing private-markets sleeve.
Vanguard’s client-owned model, now stewarded by roughly $11 trillion, continues to funnel low-cost flows into index funds and ETFs.
Why do the lists look the same
Passive flows follow index weights. Index weights follow market caps. Market caps in 2025 are influenced by AI cash flows and software margins. The result is concentration. Think of it as a feedback loop with rules and quarterly disclosures.
BlackRock: the ETF kingpin
Approximate top 30 U.S. equity positions by reported weight, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nvidia | NVDA | 7.56 |
2 | Microsoft | MSFT | 6.32 |
3 | Apple | AAPL | 6.29 |
4 | Amazon | AMZN | 3.90 |
5 | Meta Platforms | META | 3.01 |
6 | Broadcom | AVGO | 2.64 |
7 | Alphabet Class A | GOOGL | 2.54 |
8 | Tesla | TSLA | 2.39 |
9 | Alphabet Class C | GOOG | 2.37 |
10 | Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | 1.76 |
11–30 | JPM, ORCL, WMT, LLY, V, MA, NFLX, XOM, JNJ, PLTR, ABBV, COST, HD, BAC, PG, UNH, GE, CVX, KO, AMD | 0.45–1.39 |
Narrative: AI-linked leaders sit at the top. Financials, staples and healthcare appear as ballast. The shape mirrors the S&P 500 with a larger semiconductor halo.
Vanguard: the low-cost indexing champion
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, MSFT, AAPL, AMZN, META, AVGO, GOOGL, TSLA, GOOG, BRK.B | 1.76–7.56 | |
11–30 | JPM, ORCL, WMT, LLY, V, MA, NFLX, XOM, JNJ, PLTR, ABBV, COST, HD, BAC, PG, UNH, GE, CVX, KO, AMD | 0.45–1.39 |
Narrative: Overlap is the feature, not a bug. This is what tracking broad indices looks like when a few companies do most of the compounding.
State Street Global Advisors: SPDR’s steady hand
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, MSFT, AAPL, AMZN, META, AVGO, GOOGL, JPM, TSLA, BRK.B | 1.26–5.79 | |
11–30 | GOOG, V, LLY, NFLX, XOM, JNJ, CVX, MA, COST, WMT, HD, RTX, IBM, ORCL, LMT, PG, ABBV, MS, UNH, CAT | 0.52–1.26 |
Narrative: Similar top-tier lineup with a tilt toward diversified defensives and industrials within sector SPDR lineups.
Invesco: thematic and active twists
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, MSFT, AAPL, AMZN, META, AVGO, GOOGL, NFLX, TSLA, COST | 0.72–3.71 | |
11–30 | JPM, V, GOOG, CSCO, BAC, MA, TXN, PM, WFC, PLTR, INTU, WMT, PG, LLY, QQQM, GE, ISRG, CVX, BKNG, BRK.B | 0.37–0.71 |
Narrative: The core looks familiar, but sleeves in semis, software, and select thematics add texture.
Charles Schwab Investment Management: retail-friendly indexing
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | MSFT, NVDA, AAPL, AMZN, META, AVGO, GOOGL, TSLA, GOOG, BRK.B | 1.06–4.37 | |
11–30 | JPM, LLY, V, NFLX, XOM, MA, JNJ, COST, CVX, WMT, HD, ORCL, PG, ABBV, BAC, UNH, IBM, RTX, LMT, CAT | 0.39–0.96 |
Narrative: Broad-market exposure with a slight value-quality undercurrent in the second tier.
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | MSFT, NVDA, AAPL, AMZN, META, AVGO, GOOG, MA, TSLA, NFLX | 0.87–5.11 | |
11–30 | WFC, ABBV, GOOGL, XOM, ORCL, MCD, LLY, WMT, JNJ, ETN, PM, BAC, V, LOW, INTU, DIS, NOW, NEE, BRK.B, IBM | 0.43–0.74 |
Narrative: The core mega-caps remain, with visible active preferences in banks, industrial tech and select utilities.
Dimensional Fund Advisors: factor rules, familiar names
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, MSFT, AAPL, META, AMZN, JPM, GOOGL, XOM, BRK.B, GOOG | 0.70–3.42 | |
11–30 | V, AVGO, LLY, JNJ, MA, CSCO, HD, COST, PG, ORCL, ABBV, UNH, SHEL, CVX, T, WFC, WMT, IBM, VZ, TSLA | 0.34–0.68 |
Narrative: Multifactor construction still lands on the same skyscrapers at the top of the skyline.
First Trust: thematic innovators
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | CSCO, MSFT, AVGO, META, AMZN, NVDA, CRWD, PANW, GOOGL, NFLX | 0.8–1.7 | |
11–30 | INFY, NET, AAPL, FDN, XOM, BKNG, FXO, FXR, QQXT, CRM, FXU, CTSH, IBM, ZS, V, ADP, FTNT, ORCL, SNA, BLK | 0.5–0.8 |
Narrative: Sector and factor tilts generate a different middle, but the leaders still sit near the top.
Fidelity: a balance of active and passive
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, MSFT, META, AMZN, AAPL, AVGO, GOOGL, TSLA, GOOG, BRK.B | 1.76–7.56 | |
11–30 | JPM, ORCL, WMT, LLY, V, MA, NFLX, XOM, JNJ, PLTR, ABBV, COST, HD, BAC, PG, UNH, GE, CVX, KO, AMD | 0.45–1.39 |
Narrative: Growth leadership at the top, with healthcare, consumer and energy names in supporting roles.
VanEck: niches with scale
Approximate top 30, Q2 2025
Rank | Company | Ticker | Approx. Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
1–10 | NVDA, TSM, AVGO, NEM, AEM, AMD, AMAT, WPM, KGC, TXN | 1.8–7.4 | |
11–30 | ASML, ABX, MU, ADI, KLAC, QCOM, FNV, CDNS, INTC, SNPS, AGI, PAAS, RTX, AU, NXPI, GFI, MPWR, HMY, MRVL, PLTR | 0.7–1.7 |
Narrative: Semiconductors and precious metals ecosystems are prominent, consistent with firm DNA.
The picture that emerges
Concentration is structural. The same 8–10 companies dominate leadership across issuers.
ETF scale is now a macro variable. Fresh inflows reinforce existing weights, which influence price discovery at the margin.
Differences exist on the second line. Factor funds, thematics and active sleeves create variety in positions 11–30.
Methodology notes and caveats
Positions and weights reflect aggregated U.S. equity holdings from Q2 2025 13F filings and are approximate. 13Fs exclude many international securities and derivatives and may differ materially from underlying fund index weights.
Firm-level AUM figures are sourced from public disclosures and independent industry reports as referenced above. BlackRock has around $12.5 trillion, and Vanguard has around $11 trillion, based on 2025 disclosures and reputable summaries. Global ETF AUM references late-July to August 2025 industry tallies. Global asset-management AUM of roughly $147 trillion reflects mid-2025 estimates.
Compliance and disclosure
This article is for information only and does not constitute investment advice or an invitation to buy or sell any security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Data may be incomplete or subject to revision following subsequent filings and index rebalances.
Disclaimer: This publication is for general information and educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. It does not take into account your individual circumstances or objectives. Nothing here constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any investment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions. Capital is at risk.
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