U.S. ETF Monthly Summary: January 2026 Results

U.S.-listed ETFs totaled $14.1 trillion in total assets under management at the end of January. The month saw ETF inflows of $174.1 billion, off from December’s high level. Equities continue to gather the most assets by far in terms of January flows, but fixed-income funds grew faster on a percentage basis. In addition, 85 new ETFs came to market in January.

Fund Flows by Asset Class

U.S. listed ETF Assets Under Management (in trillions) as of January 31, 2026

Total inflows for January were $174.1 billion, a 24% decrease from December’s total. This is the typical pattern we see for December/January numbers. 

Looking at ETF flows by asset class:

• After a strong December, January’s inflows to equity ETFs decreased 36.2% to $110 billion.

• Inflows for fixed income ETFs increased 27.7% to $53 billion.

• Both commodities and asset allocation funds lost flow momentum.

• Alternatives increased their share of fund flows by 23%.  

Fund Flows by Sector

In sector flows, Financials, Energy, and Health Care attracted a huge portion of the new assets. The Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Real Estate sectors continued to experience significant outflows.  

ETF Launches

January saw 85 U.S. ETF launches, 35% fewer than December’s 131 launches.

• More than 80% (69) of the new ETFs are actively managed.

• AXS Investments (11 new funds) and Themes ETF (8 new funds) both launched daily leveraged single stock ETFs for short-term trading.

• With the increase in actively managed ETFs, there is continued increase in the use of leverage. For example, Toroso is using leverage to stack returns and increase income in their new products.

• BNY Mellon converted 5 of their fixed income mutual funds into ETFs in January. 

By the Way

We are watching ETF issuer leadership. For decades BlackRock has dominated the leadership role. However, Vanguard has been aggressively cutting expense ratios and increasing the competitiveness of its ETF suite. The firm now finds itself a close second to BlackRock. Stay tuned on whether Vanguard captures the top spot this year.

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