U.S. — The U.S. Treasury Department selected State Street's SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) as the initial default investment for newly opened Trump Accounts. Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged savings vehicles for children under 18.

Trump Accounts became available for initial deposits the week prior to July 8, 2026. The investment menu for these accounts also includes products from Vanguard and iShares.

Benjamin Hernandez, a research analyst at TMX VettaFi, said in a podcast interview that the selection of ETFs indicates the U.S. Treasury is aware investors are gravitating toward the ETF vehicle. Hernandez added that the other funds on the list made sense from a risk management perspective.

SPYM is a derivation of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which was the first ETF ever listed in the U.S. As of July 8, 2026, SPYM had risen 9.4% year to date. SPYM has a lower expense ratio than both SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO).

VOO is currently the largest ETF in terms of assets. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), another fund in the program, has $892 billion in assets and had risen 9% year to date as of July 8, 2026. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) manages $663 billion in assets and had risen 9.6% year to date as of July 8, 2026. The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF (SPTM) oversees $13 billion in assets and had risen 9.45% year to date as of July 8, 2026.

Jeff Judge, a founding partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners, stated that cost is the guiding philosophy for understanding why these funds were chosen. Judge said that any fund with a higher expense ratio, any leveraged or inverse product, or any fund not tracking a broad U.S. equity index was disqualified before the Treasury developed a rationale. He also stated that the list of funds is a compliance list rather than a curated best-of list.

Hernandez stated that the program introduces younger investors to the concept that higher gains require assuming more risk in mid- and small caps that inherently have volatility. The Treasury Department has not yet issued guidance on whether or when switching from the default holding to other approved choices is possible.