ETFGI, reported the ETF Industry in the United States had Record Assets of US$16.36 Trillion and Record Year-to-Date Net Inflows of US$1.41 Trillion at the End of August. During August, the ETFs industry in the United States gathered net inflows of US$182.14 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$1.41 trillion, according to ETFGI's August 2026 US 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
• Assets invested in the U.S. ETF industry reached a record US$16.36 trillion at the end of August 2026, surpassing the previous record of $15.78 trillion set in June 2026.
• Assets have increased 21.9% year to date, rising from $13.43 trillion at the end of 2025 to a record $16.36 trillion at the end of August 2026.
• The U.S. ETF industry gathered net inflows of $182.14 billion in August 2026.
• Year-to-date net inflows reached a record US$1.41 trillion, US$611.23 billion (76.5%) higher than the previous record of US$798.77 billion recorded during the same period in 2025.
• August 2026 marked the 52nd consecutive month of net inflows into U.S.-listed ETFs.
“Global equity markets continued to build on their gains in August, supported by broad-based strength across both developed and emerging markets. The S&P 500 increased 2.72% during the month and is up 13.14% year-to-date. Developed markets excluding the US outperformed, rising 3.01% in August and 18.07% year-to-date, led by Korea and Norway. Emerging markets also posted strong gains, advancing 3.53% in August and 13.26% year-to-date, with Taiwan and Greece delivering the strongest monthly returns among emerging market countries,” 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 August
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 concentration
Despite the presence of 501 ETF providers and 5,674 ETFs listed on 3 U.S. exchanges, industry assets remain highly concentrated. Vanguard, iShares, and State Street SPDR ETFs collectively controlled more than 70% of total assets at the end of August, while the other 498 providers accounted for only 29.8% of industry assets.
This concentration was also evident in asset gathering, with the three largest providers capturing $81.75 billion, or 44.9%, of August net inflows and $735.83 billion, or 52.2%, of total year-to-date net inflows.
ETF concentration
Out of 5,674 ETFs listed in the United States, the three largest ETFs by assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), held combined assets of $2.73 trillion at the end of August, representing 16.7% of total U.S. ETF industry assets. Despite accounting for just 0.05% of all ETFs, these three funds alone represented nearly one-sixth of industry assets. Year to date, the three ETFs attracted $141.3 billion in net inflows, representing approximately 10.0% of total U.S. ETF industry net inflows.
Net Inflows
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ETFs gathered US$182.14 billion in net inflows during August.
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Equity ETFs attracted $68.69 billion in net inflows in August, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $635.94 billion, more than double the $291.71 billion gathered through August 2025.
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Fixed income ETFs recorded $34.07 billion in net inflows during August, bringing YTD net inflows to $252.12 billion, significantly higher than the $115.79 billion gathered through August 2025.
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Commodity ETFs gathered $9.57 billion in net inflows in August, lifting YTD net inflows to $1.37 billion, well below the $27.78 billion recorded over the same period in 2025.
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Active ETFs attracted $63.16 billion in net inflows during August, bringing YTD net inflows to $529.96 billion, compared with $306.34 billion through August 2025.
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Equity and active ETFs remained the primary drivers of ETF demand, accounting for $68.69 billion and $63.16 billion, respectively, of August net inflows.
Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETF's by net new assets, which collectively gathered $98.53 Bn in August, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO US) gathered $27.18 Bn alone.
Top 20 ETFs by net new assets August 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 $13.68 Bn in August, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD US) gathered $5.03 Bn alone.
Top 10 ETPs by net new assets August 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 index equity and active ETFs in August.
