ETFGI Reports ETFs Industry In The US Breaks Full-Year Net Inflow Record With $1.56 Trillion Gathered Through End Of September

ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm, reported today ETFs Industry in the US breaks full-year net inflow record with $1.56 trillion gathered through September that assets of US$16.24 trillion were invested in the ETFs industry in the United States at the end of September. During September, the ETFs industry in the United States gathered net inflows of US$152.93 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$1.56 trillion, according to ETFGI's September 2026 US ETFs industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of 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

Assets of US$16.24 Tn were invested in the ETFs industry in the United States at the end of September, below the record high asset of $16.36 Tn in August 2026.
Assets increased 21.0% YTD in 2026, going from $13.43 Tn at end of 2025 to $16.24 Tn.
53rd month of consecutive net inflows.
YTD net inflows of $1.56 Tn in US are beating the full year net inflows record of $1.50 Tn in 2025.
Net inflows of $152.93 Bn in September.
YTD net inflows of $1.56 Tn are the highest on record, followed by YTD net inflows of $951.27 Bn in 2025 and the third highest recorded YTD net inflows are of $740.78 Bn in 2024.
YTD through end of September, 1130 new ETFs have been launched by 206 providers, while 238 ETFs have closed.

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“Equity market performance weakened in September across both developed and emerging markets. While the S&P 500 declined 0.35%, it remained up 12.75% for the year. Developed markets excluding the U.S. fell 2.72% in September but continued to show strong gains of 14.86% year-to-date. New Zealand and Luxembourg experienced the largest declines among developed markets. Emerging markets also retreated, falling 1.77% during the month, although they remained up 11.26% in 2026. Turkey and the Czech Republic recorded the steepest declines among emerging markets,” said Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, Founder, and Owner of ETFGI.

Growth in assets in the ETFs industry in the United States as of the end of September

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.

ETF Provider Highlights

The ETFs industry in the United States has 5,780 ETFs, assets of $16.24 Tn, from 511 providers on 4 exchanges at the end of September.

The US ETF industry continues to exhibit a high degree of concentration, with the three largest providers, iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR, collectively accounting for 70.0% of industry assets, representing $11.37 trillion of the industry's total $16.24 trillion in assets.

Together, these firms accounted for $829 billion, or approximately 53% of the record $1.56 trillion of YTD net inflows into US-listed ETFs. Vanguard with 116 ETFs led the industry with $388.0 billion in net inflows, iShares with 483 ETFs followed with $313.8 billion, and State Street SPDR with 183 ETFs gathered $127.5 billion.

State Street SPDR has already exceeded its full-year 2025 flow total by approximately 50%, demonstrating a significant acceleration in asset gathering. Vanguard remains on pace for another record year and is on track to challenge its 2025 full-year inflow record. iShares continues to generate substantial inflows while maintaining its position as the industry's largest provider by assets.

Net inflow Highlights

Investor demand for ETFs remains unprecedented, with the industry already establishing a new annual net inflow record before the end of the third quarter.
The breadth of inflows across equity, fixed income, and active ETFs demonstrates that investors continue to use ETFs as core portfolio building blocks across a wide range of asset classes and investment strategies.
The continued acceleration in flows to active ETFs suggests investors increasingly value the combination of active management and the tax efficiency, transparency, and liquidity offered by the ETF structure.
Strong inflows into both equity and fixed income ETFs indicate investors are simultaneously positioning for growth opportunities while maintaining strategic allocations to income and diversification solutions.
US-listed ETFs gathered a record $1.56 trillion in net inflows year to date through September 2026, surpassing the previous full-year record of $1.50 trillion set in 2025 with three months still remaining in the year.
ETFs attracted $152.93 billion in net inflows during September, extending the industry's strong asset-gathering momentum.
Year-to-date net inflows of $1.56 trillion are the highest on record, well ahead of the $951.27 billion gathered through September 2025 and the $740.78 billion gathered through September 2024.
Equity ETFs led asset gathering in September with net inflows of $41.02 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $677.10 billion, nearly double the $353.37 billion gathered during the same period in 2025.
Fixed income ETFs recorded $40.08 billion in net inflows during September, increasing year-to-date net inflows to $293.44 billion, significantly higher than the $174.58 billion gathered through September 2025.
Active ETFs continued to see strong investor demand, attracting $61.16 billion in September and bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record $590.23 billion, compared with $362.74 billion over the same period in 2025.
Active ETFs accounted for nearly 39% of all industry net inflows year to date, highlighting investors' growing adoption of active ETF strategies.
Commodities ETFs gathered $3.74 billion in September; however, year-to-date net inflows of $5.50 billion remain well below the $39.07 billion gathered during the same period in 2025.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETF's by net new assets, which collectively gathered $81.34 Bn in September, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY US) gathered $10.70 Bn alone.

Top 20 ETFs by net new assets September 2026: US

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 August change slightly as additional data becomes available.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 10 ETP's by net new assets, which collectively gathered $7.43 Bn in September, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD US) gathered $1.89 Bn alone.

Top 10 ETPs by net new assets September 2026: US

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 August change slightly as additional data becomes available.

Investors have tended to invest in Active ETFs during September.