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2025 ETF Year in Review
Casey Kayl | 9 February 2026
Each year, we analyze the ETF industry to spot the biggest trends and get ahead of what’s next. As we’ve seen in years past, 2025 brought another set of milestones for the industry.
Here are three key takeaways from the 2025 data*:
ETF growth hit new records in 2025.
U.S.-listed ETFs ended the year around $13.5T in assets (global ETFs over $19T) and saw over $1.4T in net inflows, reinforcing the continued shift away from mutual funds.
Active ETFs are becoming mainstream and driving most new launches.
Active ETFs pulled in $450B+ of inflows (a 63.9% increase in AUM) and accounted for ~1,000 of the 1,167 new ETF launches in 2025, even as passive ETFs still led total flows.
Equity ETFs continue to dominate, but other asset categories are also thriving.
The U.S. market ended the year with 4,800+ listed ETFs, fueled by massive new product launch volume. While equities led inflows, fixed income ($258B) and commodities ($56B, led by gold) had standout years, showing broader investor demand across categories.
Another Record Year for ETFs
U.S.-listed ETFs closed the year with approximately $13.5 trillion in assets, while global assets exceeded $19 trillion. While passive ETFs garnered more in overall net inflows, the year saw active ETFs dominate new fund launches. As ETFs continue to see record inflows, mutual funds saw net outflows in 2025. This, combined with an increase in mutual fund-to-ETF conversions and the recent SEC approval of ETFs as a share class of mutual funds, continues to show a shift toward the adoption of the exchange-traded product structure.
ETF Inflows Surge Past $1.4 Trillion
It was another year of record-breaking inflows for ETFs. A year after net inflows topped $1 trillion for the first time in 2024, those net inflows jumped to over $1.4 trillion in 2025. While more established passive ETFs accounted for roughly $1 trillion of that figure, the move toward active saw over $450 billion in positive flows. Though the marked increase in active ETF assets (a 63.9% increase in 2025) signals a mainstream adoption of these products, there does seem to be a concentration among issuers. Six large issuers accounted for about half of active ETF inflows. This may point to advisors preferring established asset managers for their active ETF allocations.
New ETF Launches Explode in 2025
On the heels of a record-setting ETF launch schedule in 2024, the year 2025 saw the number of new product launches explode. While over 736 launches last year set the bar high, 2025 easily topped that record with an astounding 1,167 new ETFs brought to market. Active funds led the way, accounting for roughly 1,000 new product launches. Three firms launched more than 50 ETFs each, in an arms race for market share of short-term-oriented product strategies. While ETF closures saw an uptick to 232 from 2024’s figure of 180, the drastic increase in new launches brought the total number of U.S.-listed ETFs to over 4,800 at year’s end.
As mentioned, 2025 was a big year for active ETFs, following the trend of recent years. As advisors and investors continue to show increased adoption of these products, the active train continues to pick up speed. Although outpaced overall by inflows to passive ETFs, active products are closing the gap. In 2024, active accounted for roughly a quarter of net flows into ETFs. 2025 increased that figure to about a third of total inflows. Short-term oriented strategies, such as single-stock leveraged funds, became very popular in 2025, accounting for more than 340 new launches. Although clearly the preferred ETF vehicle of choice for new fund launches in 2025, not all active funds were winners. Active also led the way with about 150 of the year’s 232 ETF closures.
Asset Class Trends: Equity Still Leads, But Fixed Income & Commodities Shine
Unsurprisingly, equity ETFs garnered the lion’s share of inflows in 2025. However, fixed income and commodity ETFs had banner years as well. U.S. fixed income gathered inflows of $258 billion, more than a 40% increase over what we saw in 2024. Commodity ETFs took in a whopping $56 billion, a massive increase over 2024, which saw less than $2 billion in flows. Much of the growth on the commodity side was driven by physically-backed gold ETFs, with $89 billion added globally by year-end. U.S. gold-backed ETFs ended the year at a record $280 billion in AUM. After a large jump in inflows in 2024, U.S. crypto ETFs remained steady in 2025, with inflows of roughly $36 billion. While early 2024 saw a rush to market of several spot bitcoin ETFs, the majority of those funds struggled in 2025. Excluding one particular ETF, U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs actually saw net outflows for the year.
Looking Ahead: Key Questions for 2026
Turning to 2026, it is hard to expect anything other than further growth for the ETF industry. Whether the number of new fund launches can surpass 2025 remains to be seen, but it certainly doesn’t seem like that train is slowing down. Active appears that it will continue to lead the way as far as new products are concerned, but will it continue to chip away at the share of inflows currently and historically dominated by more traditional, passively managed funds? Will the number and frequency of mutual fund-to-ETF conversions continue to increase? Will more crypto funds come to market, and will any of them be successful? Or will we continue to see concentration at the top of that segment? What will come of ETFs as a share class of mutual funds? These, and many other questions will be monitored closely throughout the year. As with each year in recent memory, 2026 is sure to be another exciting and innovative year for the ETF industry.
If you have any questions about the ETF landscape, reach out anytime.
*The insights and data presented in this review were informed by leading industry sources, including Morningstar, FactSet, Ignites, ETF.com, ETF Trends, and ETFGI.