ETFGI, reported that Global ETF Assets Top US$24 Trillion for the First Time as Investors Add Nearly US$2 Trillion in 2026. 

During August, the ETFs industry globally gathered net inflows of US$248.15 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$1.96 trillion, according to ETFGI’s August 2026 Global ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. ETFGI, is a 14 year old leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, 6 annual ETFGI Global ETFs Insights Summits, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted)

Highlights

• Assets invested in the global ETF industry reached a new record of $24.03 trillion at the end of August 2026, surpassing the previous record of $23.11 trillion set at the end of July 2026. 
• Global ETF industry assets have increased 21.3% year-to-date, rising from $19.84 trillion at the end of 2025 to $24.03 trillion.
• The industry gathered $248.15 billion in net inflows during August.
• Year-to-date net inflows reached a record $1.96 trillion, exceeding the previous record of $1.27 trillion in 2025 and $1.07 trillion in 2024. 
• August marked the 87th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs globally.

“The S&P 500 declined slightly by 0.06% in July but remained up 10.14% year-to-date in 2026. Developed markets excluding the US gained 0.30% during July and were up 14.62% year-to-date, with Luxembourg (+12.10%) and Norway (+9.93%) posting the strongest gains among developed markets. Emerging markets fell 0.33% in July but remained up 9.40% year-to-date, while Taiwan (-7.80%) and Turkey (-5.91%) recorded the largest declines among emerging markets,” according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, Founder, and Owner of ETFGI.

Growth in assets in the Global ETFs industry as of the end of August

Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: “ETFs” are typically open-end index funds that provide daily portfolio transparency, are listed and traded on exchanges like stocks on a secondary basis as well as utilising a unique creation and redemption process for primary transactions. “ETPs” refers to other products that have similarities to ETFs in the way they trade and settle but they do not use a mutual fund structure. The use of other structures including grantor trusts, partnerships, notes and depositary receipts by ETPs can create different tax and regulatory implications for investors when compared to ETFs which are funds.

ETF Providers 

The global ETF industry ended August 2026 with $24.02 trillion in assets, spread across 17,713 ETFs from 1,044 providers listed on 86 exchanges in 66 countries. During August, the industry gathered $248.15 billion in net inflows, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record $1.96 trillion.

The three largest ETF providers, iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR, collectively managed $14.08 trillion, representing 58.7% of global ETF assets at the end of August 2026.

iShares remained the largest ETF provider globally with $6.55 trillion in assets under management, accounting for 27.3% of global ETF assets. The firm gathered US$40.25 billion in net inflows during August, while year-to-date net inflows reached $410.51 billion, highlighting continued strong investor demand across its global product lineup.

Vanguard ranked second with $5.18 trillion in assets, representing 21.6% of global industry assets. Vanguard led all providers in both monthly and year-to-date flows, attracting $67.76 billion in net inflows during August and a record $440.69 billion in net inflows year-to-date, reflecting strong investor preference for its low-cost index and active ETF offerings.

State Street SPDR remained the third-largest provider globally with $2.35 trillion in assets, representing 9.8% of global ETF assets. The firm gathered $9.56 billion in net inflows during August, while year-to-date net inflows totaled $132.39 billion, supported by continued demand for its flagship equity and fixed income ETF ranges.

Together, the three largest providers captured 47.3% of the industry’s August net inflows and 50.2% of total year-to-date net inflows, underscoring their dominant position in the global ETF marketplace and their ability to continue attracting a substantial share of investor assets.

 Net Flows

During August 2026, ETFs gathered $248.15 billion in net inflows, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record $1.96 trillion and extending the industry’s streak to 87 consecutive months of positive net inflows.

Equity ETFs attracted $102.01 billion in net inflows during August, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $874.83 billion, significantly higher than the $553.03 billion in net inflows gathered over the same period in 2025.

Fixed income ETFs recorded $49.36 billion in net inflows during August, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $364.05 billion, exceeding the $264.96 billion attracted through August 2025.

Commodities ETFs gathered $18.95 billion in net inflows during August, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $34.09 billion, below the $52.64 billion recorded through August 2025.

Active ETFs continued to see strong demand, attracting $73.12 billion in net inflows during August and bringing year-to-date net inflows to $663.59 billion, substantially higher than the $375.98 billion gathered during the same period in 2025, highlighting the growing investor adoption of actively managed ETF strategies.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETF’s by net new assets, which collectively gathered $101.74 Bn in August, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO US) gathered $27.18 Bn alone.

Source: ETFGI