Global ETF flows grew by 35% during the first three months of the year, compared with the first quarter of the previous year. According to ETFGI, net inflows of $174.42 billion were recorded in March, bringing total net inflows for the year to a record $626.42 billion.
This means that global ETF assets stood at $20.08 trillion at the end of the first quarter, below the record $21.24 trillion reached in February 2026. “The global ETF industry remains highly concentrated, with iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR ETFs controlling 58.3% of total assets. iShares leads with $5.43 trillion (27.1%), followed by Vanguard with $4.29 trillion (21.4%) and State Street SPDR ETFs with $1.98 trillion (9.9%). The other 991 providers each account for less than 5% of global ETF assets,” highlights Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder, and owner of ETFGI.
The destination of flows
According to ETFGI data, first-quarter net inflows, totaling $626.42 billion, are the highest ever recorded, surpassing the previous peak of $463.51 billion in 2025 and $397.51 billion in 2024. March therefore marked the 82nd consecutive month of net inflows into the global ETF industry.
In March, ETFs gathered $174.42 billion in net inflows globally. In terms of asset types, equity ETFs recorded net inflows of $54.12 billion in March, bringing the year-to-date total to $225.64 billion, above the $211.63 billion recorded through March 2025. Meanwhile, fixed income ETFs posted net inflows of $35.44 billion in March, taking the annual total to $119.17 billion, well above the $81.97 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.
Commodity ETFs, for their part, experienced net outflows of $9.83 billion in March; “however, on a year-to-date basis they have recorded net inflows of $16.62 billion, below the $21.91 billion reached through March 2025,” they note. Finally, active ETFs gathered $78.37 billion in March, lifting the annual total to $245.95 billion, significantly higher than the $144.51 billion recorded through March 2025.
The significant inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which together attracted $94.06 billion in March. “The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM US) alone recorded $16.83 billion,” ETFGI highlights.
