ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, events, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends, reports Global ETF Industry records US$2.24 Trillion in YTD net inflows through September 2026, extending winning streak to 88 consecutive months. During September, the ETFs industry globally gathered net inflows of US$276.06 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$2.24 trillion, according to ETFGI's September 2026 Global ETFs and ETPs 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
- Global ETF assets stood at $23.91 trillion at the end of September 2026, slightly below the record high of $24.03 trillion reached at the end of August 2026.
- Global ETF assets increased by 20.7% year-to-date, rising from $19.81 trillion at the end of 2025 to $23.91 trillion at the end of September 2026.
- ETFs gathered net inflows of $276.06 billion during September 2026, bringing year-to-date inflows to a record $2.24 trillion.
- The $2.24 trillion of year-to-date net inflows is the highest on record, surpassing the previous records of $1.54 trillion in 2025 and $1.24 trillion in 2024.
- September 2026 marked the 88th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs globally.
- The three largest ETF issuers, iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR, managed $13.93 trillion in assets, representing 58.3% of global ETF assets.
- These three issuers also gathered $1.11 trillion in net new assets year-to-date, accounting for 49.6% of total global ETF inflows in 2026.
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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 Global ETFs industry 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.
Top 3 ETF Issuers Account for More Than Half of Global ETF Assets and Nearly Half of YTD Flows
At the end of September 2026, the global ETFs industry consisted of 17,989 ETFs, with 34,573 listings, holding $23.90 trillion in assets from 1,076 providers listed on 83 exchanges across 65 countries. During September, the industry gathered $276.06 billion in net new assets (NNA), bringing year-to-date (YTD) inflows to a record $2.24 trillion.
The three largest ETF issuers globally, iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR, continued to dominate the industry, together managing $13.93 trillion, representing 58.3% of all global ETF assets.
Year-to-date through September 2026, iShares, Vanguard, and State Street SPDR gathered a combined $1.11 trillion in net new assets, representing approximately 49.6% of the industry's total YTD inflows of $2.24 trillion.
Net inflows highlights
Net inflows into ETFs reached $276.06 billion in September 2026, lifting year-to-date inflows to a record $2.24 trillion. This exceeds the previous annual records of $1.54 trillion in 2025 and $1.24 trillion in 2024, highlighting continued strong global investor demand for ETFs.
Equity ETFs attracted $100.07 billion in net inflows during September, bringing year-to-date (YTD) net inflows to $976.17 billion, significantly higher than the $677.01 billion gathered through September 2025.
Fixed income ETFs recorded $72.16 billion in net inflows during September, increasing YTD net inflows to $437.78 billion, exceeding the $314.16 billion gathered through September 2025.
Commodity ETFs gathered $22.22 billion in net inflows during September, bringing YTD net inflows to $56.59 billion, below the $73.18 billion reported through September 2025.
Active ETFs attracted $75.84 billion in net inflows during September, lifting YTD net inflows to $733.95 billion, well above the $446.75 billion gathered through September 2025.
Equity and active ETFs continued to be the primary drivers of global ETF asset growth in 2026, while fixed income ETFs also experienced record levels of investor demand.
Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETF's by net new assets, which collectively gathered $82.52 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: Global
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.
Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 10 ETP's by net new assets, which collectively gathered $20.25 Bn in September, the Perth Mint Gold (PMGOLD AU) gathered $11.68 Bn alone.
Top 10 ETPs by net new assets September 2026: Global
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 ETFs during September.
