ETFGI reports Active ETFs assets Hit Record US$2.49 Trillion and Record Net Inflows of US$412 Bn YTD at the end of May. During May the actively managed ETFs industry globally gathered net inflows of US$100.08 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$411.75 billion, according to ETFGI's May 2026 Active ETF industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service. ETFGI, is a 14 year old leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, 6 annual ETFGI Global ETFs Insights Summits, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
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Assets invested in the actively managed ETF industry globally reached a new record of $2.49 trillion at the end of May, surpassing the previous high of $2.33 trillion in April 2026.
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Assets have increased 28.8% year-to-date, rising from $1.93 trillion at the end of 2025, reflecting strong and accelerating adoption of active ETF strategies.
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Actively managed ETFs gathered net inflows of $100.08 billion during May, highlighting continued investor demand.
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Year-to-date net inflows of $411.75 billion are the highest on record, significantly exceeding the $220.53 billion recorded in 2025, with $124.35 billion in 2024 representing the third-highest level.
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The industry has now recorded its 74th consecutive month of net inflows, underscoring the sustained structural shift toward actively managed ETF solutions globally.
“The S&P 500 rose 5.26% in May and is up 11.27% year‑to‑date in 2026. Developed markets excluding the U.S. gained 5.20% during May and are up 15.33% year‑to‑date, with Korea (+28.71%) and Luxembourg (+20.50%) delivering the strongest returns among developed markets for the month. Emerging markets increased by 3.77% in May and are up 11.44% year‑to‑date, led by Taiwan (+16.95%) and Peru (+11.75%), which recorded the highest gains among emerging markets in May.” According to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner and founder of ETFGI.
Growth in assets in the actively managed ETFs industry as of end of May
Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: “ETFs” are typically open-end index funds that provide daily portfolio transparency, are listed and traded on exchanges like stocks on a secondary basis as well as utilising a unique creation and redemption process for primary transactions. “ETPs” refers to other products that have similarities to ETFs in the way they trade and settle but they do not use a mutual fund structure. The use of other structures including grantor trusts, partnerships, notes and depositary receipts by ETPs can create different tax and regulatory implications for investors when compared to ETFs which are funds.
The actively managed ETFs industry globally had 5,295 ETFs, with 7,265 listings, assets of $2.49 Tn, from 717 providers on 49 exchanges in 39 countries at the end of May.
ETF providers
Dimensional is the largest provider in terms of assets with $296.82 Bn, reflecting 11.9% market share; JP Morgan Asset Management is second with $291.38 Bn and 11.7% market share, followed by iShares with $168.64 Bn and 6.8% market share. The top three providers, out of 717, account for 30.4% of Global Active ETFs AUM, while the remaining 714 providers each have less than 6% market share.
Net Inflows
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Actively managed ETFs gathered net inflows of $100.08 billion during May, highlighting continued investor demand.
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Year-to-date net inflows of $411.75 billion are the highest on record, significantly exceeding the $220.53 billion recorded in 2025, with $124.35 billion in 2024 representing the third-highest level.
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Equity-focused actively managed ETFs gathered net inflows of $60.97 billion during May, bringing year-to-date inflows to $242.18 billion, significantly higher than the $124.28 billion recorded at the same point in 2025.
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Fixed income-focused actively managed ETFs reported net inflows of $26.12 billion in May, with year-to-date inflows reaching $136.73 billion, well above the $82.09 billion recorded in May 2025, reflecting continued strong demand for income and diversification.
Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $37.89 Bn in May, the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM US) gathered $8.12 Bn alone.
Top 20 actively managed ETFs by net new assets May 2026
Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: This report is based on the most recent data available at the time of publication. Asset and flow data may change slightly as additional data becomes available.
Investors have tended to invest in Equity actively managed ETFs during May.
