The year 2025 will have been a series of upward flow headlines for ETFs in the United States and, when looking at the consolidated data, the record high announced in the latest ETFGI report will come as no surprise. The breakdown by asset class confirms the trend: passive management is prevailing in equities. A third conclusion also stands out—the extreme concentration of the sector, dominated by three major brands: iShares (BlackRock), Vanguard, and State Street.
A Historic Year
The year 2025 was exceptional for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry in the United States, marking record highs in both assets under management and net capital inflows. ETFs in the U.S. attracted a total of $1.50 trillion in net inflows during 2025, driving total assets to $13.43 trillion by the end of December 2025, a record high for the U.S. industry.
Growth in Assets and Net Inflows in 2025
The most notable figure in the report is that during 2025, investors contributed $1.50 trillion in net inflows to the U.S. ETF sector, an unprecedented figure in the historical series. Monthly net inflows also showed strong and sustained momentum, with $223 billion in December 2025 alone. This flow continues a long-standing trend of capital accumulation by institutional and retail investors into exchange-traded funds.
As a result of these significant capital inflows, total assets under management by ETFs in the U.S. reached $13.43 trillion at the end of December 2025, far exceeding the $10.35 trillion recorded at the end of 2024. This growth represents a year-over-year increase of nearly 28% in assets under management, indicating a strong investor preference for the flexibility, cost-efficiency, and liquidity that ETFs offer compared to traditional investment vehicles.
This phenomenon is not isolated: other ETFGI reports show that the global ETF industry also experienced rapid growth in assets and flows in 2025, reaching record levels of over $19 trillion by the end of November, with more than 78 consecutive months of positive net inflows.
Main Segments and Types of ETFs
A key aspect of the expansion of the U.S. market in 2025 was the differentiated contribution of ETF types.
Equity ETFs were the ones that attracted the most flows, with $149.00 billion in December 2025 alone, bringing annual flows to $656.095 billion. This demonstrates continued investor preference for diversified exposure to U.S. and global equities, according to the report.
Fixed income also saw positive inflows, with $23.079 billion in December and a total of $258.014 billion in 2025. This reflects investor interest in lower-risk instruments or risk-adjusted returns amid equity market volatility.
Commodity ETFs, though more modest compared to equities and bonds, captured $9.033 billion in December, and their cumulative flows rose significantly compared to the previous year.
A notable trend this year was the growth of actively managed ETFs. These products attracted *$43.079 billion in December alone, totaling $514.056 billion in 2025, well above figures from previous years. The increased adoption of active ETFs indicates that while passive management remains dominant, investors are willing to pay for more specialized strategies that seek higher risk-adjusted returns.
Main Providers and Market Concentration
The report also analyzes market share among the leading ETF providers in the United States. The data reveal a clear concentration among the sector’s leaders, with three firms controlling more than two-thirds of the U.S. ETF market:
iShares (BlackRock) remains the dominant provider with $3.99 trillion under management, representing approximately 29.7% of the total U.S. ETF market.
Vanguard follows closely with $3.86 trillion and a market share of 28.7%*, solidifying its position as one of the most influential managers of passive products.
State Street SPDR ETFs ranks third, with $1.83 trillion and a 13.7% market share.
Together, these three providers hold approximately 72.1%* of total ETF assets in the United States, while the remaining 457 issuers each represent less than 6%, highlighting the strong concentration of the U.S. ETF market in the hands of a few players.
