U.S. ETF Monthly Summary: March 2025

At the end of March, U.S.-listed ETFs had over $10.4 trillion of assets under management. Inflows were $88.3 billion in March, raising the year-to-date total to $306.5 billion. ETFs also continue to break records for the number of funds to launch, with a total of 89 in March. This makes 246 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 148 in the first quarter of 2024. This is a 66% increase year-over-year.

Fund Flows by Asset Class

U.S. listed ETF flows (in millions) as of March 31, 2025

Total inflows for March totaled $88.3 billion, down 21% from last month.

• Most asset classes had lower inflows than February, with equities down 13% and fixed income down 39%.

• Inflows for commodities were also down 3%.

• Asset allocation funds fared better, up by 44% from $454 million to $654 million inflows.

• On the other hand, currency ETFs still had outflows of $1 billion.

Fund Flows by Sector

Real Estate, Consumer Staples, and Utilities were the only sectors with inflows. The remaining segments had outflows, notably in Financials, Industrials, and Consumer Discretionary.

ETF Launches

In March 2025, 89 U.S. ETFs launched (compared to 82 in February and 52 during the same month of 2024). Equities led with 64 and fixed income with 18, making up 72% and 20% of total launches, respectively.

Q1 had 245 ETF launches—already one-third of the total launches in 2024. That's 14% more than last quarter’s 214 and 66% more than the 148 from Q1 2024.

Along with broad-based funds, 31 sector and thematic ETFs launched, with about half providing exposure to Information Technology. March launch highlights include:

• ETFs with paired exposure to single stocks. Toroso gave us four (APED, LAYS, SPCY, and ZIPP) with double-stacked stock strategies, targeting 200% exposure to two companies.

• Instead of providing exposure to Bitcoin, OWNB invests in firms holding Bitcoin in its corporate treasury holdings.

• VYLD tracks the inverse performance of VIX futures contracts—JPMorgan’s first ETN stemmed from the Bear Sterns acquisition.

• The launch of managed futures IMF marks a first for Invesco.

• VolatilityShares launched two Solana futures ETFs (SOL and SOLZ), as issuers await the SEC’s approval of spot Solana ETFs.

• Westwood Management launched BFRE, investing in global equities from countries without authoritarian regimes.

By the Way

While inflows for most asset classes in Q1 were lower than Q4, we saw interesting movements in fixed income funds. During times of uncertainty, investors may seek to hedge against equity volatility by pivoting to fixed income.

The $101 billion that flowed to bond ETFs in Q1 comprised 33% of inflows for all ETFs in Q1, a 24% bump from Q4. Among flows to this asset class, 46% went to ultra-short term, investment grade U.S. funds.

Ultra short-term funds invest in fixed income securities with maturities of one year or less, ideal for investors with brief investment horizons. These shorter-term investments often have lower interest rate risk compared to their intermediate or longer-term counterparts, which in turn can generate potential returns during market declines.

Investments in U.S. Treasury securities are also considered safe investments, as they are backed by the full faith and credit of the government. Among all fixed income segments, the U.S.-Government, Treasury Investment Grade Ultra Short-Term segment experienced the highest inflows with $9.1 billion.

In the long term, stocks historically outperform bonds. However, with growing concerns about tariffs and inflation, ultra short-term ETFs are conservative options for investors who seek to remain invested, despite no full guarantee of capital protection or returns during challenging markets.

In considering funds in this space, below are 10 with the highest fund flows year-to-date:

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