U.S.-listed ETFs closed August with $16.4 trillion in total assets under management, a 3.5% increase from July. Monthly net fund flows continued to decrease in August, with $182.6 billion in new assets added, which is down 5.5% from July.
New money flowed into every asset class in August. Equities continued to dominate, capturing 54.2% of monthly fund flows. However, fixed income and commodities saw a significant increase in inflows, attracting 33.5% and 5.8%, respectively. The remaining 6.5% was split among currency, alternatives, and asset allocation ETFs.
Following a record number of new ETF launches in June, August brought 134 new ETFs to market. The year-to-date total is 1,023 new ETFs, which is a record pace at 52% ahead of last year’s number at this time.
U.S. listed ETF assets under management (in millions) and fund flows as of August 31, 2026:
Looking at August ETF flows by asset class:
Equities: Beyond the broad market indexes, fund flows in the equity space went towards US high dividend yield products, global robotics & AI, and global information technology. Fund flows outside of the US were directed towards developed markets ex-US, South Korea, and Taiwan. Outflows occurred in US financials, semiconductors, and US information technology.
Fixed income: Treasury products dominated fixed income fund flows, capturing 42% of the month's net flows, largely driven by ultra-short-term products, while intermediate-term products experienced outflows.
Commodities: Net inflows in the commodity space continued to be directed towards broad market exposure, wheat, and inverse crude oil products. Precious metals and natural gas experienced the largest outflows.
Currency: Long Bitcoin and Ethereum products attracted the most assets. However, it is interesting to note money was pulled from leveraged Ethereum and US dollar products.
Asset allocation: Target outcome funds lead the asset class, specifically balanced funds and managed equity risk.
Alternatives: Inflows to this space also focused on Treasury bond, hedged S&P 500, and income strategies.
Investors took a more defensive stance in August, as most S&P sectors experienced outflows, with Financials, Information Technology, and Energy recording the most outflows. The Consumer Discretionary, Materials, Industrials, and Utilities sectors had inflows.
Details:
August brought 134 new ETFs to market. Roughly 25% of the new products aim to provide leverage or inverse exposure.
18 single-stock funds launched, primarily focusing on the semiconductor industry.
BMO added 13 new leveraged or inverse ETFs to their MicroSector suite.
ORIX also added 13 new funds to their core US equity suite under the brand of Harbor AlphaEdge.
Northern Trust launched a suite of municipal and inflation-hedged distribution ladder ETFs, aiming to provide steady distributions to shareholders through coupon payments and return of principal annually until the ETF terminates.
Five mutual funds were converted to ETFs in August: two from Goldman Sachs, two from Zevenbergen Capital Investments, and one from Raymond James.
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