This is reflected in the statistics collected by the specialized firm ETFGIbased in London, which days ago reported that assets invested in the ETF industry worldwide reached a new high of US$18.81 billion at the end of September (this represents, for example, more than 31 times the GDP of Argentina).
In this way, it surpasses the previous record, from August, of US$17.85 billion, and accumulates a total asset portfolio growth of 26.7% so far in 2025 (when they started the year they were US$14.85 billion).
Record entries and 76 consecutive months of growth
According to ETFGI data, during September, the ETF industry recorded global net inflows of US$267.66 billionwhich brings net inflows so far this year to a historical record of US$1.54 trillionsurpassing the previous highs of US$1.24 trillion in 2024 and US$923.1 billion in 2021.
It is worth remembering that last month, the context of world markets showed a rise of the S&P 500 index of 3.65%which raises its annual profit to 14.83%, while the developed markets (excluding the US) They increased by 2.5% and accumulate growth of 27.67% in 2025.
Besides, Netherlands and Korea led gains among developed markets in September, with an increase of 13.27% and 9.04%, respectively, while the emerging markets advanced 5.49% and accumulate an advance of 22.41% so far this year, with Peru (+12.8%) and South Africa (+9.47%) recording the best monthly performance among emerging markets, he stated Deborah Fuhrfounder of ETFGI.
The big players in the market
At the level of the different products, iShares remains the largest provider of ETFs globally, with US$5.28 billion in assets under management, which represents 28.3% of the total market. It follows Vanguardsecondly, with US$4.01 trillion and a market share of 21.5%, and then SPDR ETFs with US$1.89 trillionwhich represent 10.1% of the market.
Together, these three main suppliers (out of a total of 915) They control 59.8% of the assets under management of the global ETF industry. The remaining 912 suppliers individually hold less than 5% of the market share.
In this sense, last month’s x-ray of the global ETF industry showed 15,125 products, with 29,677 listings, assets for US$18.81 billion, from 915 suppliers in 81 exchanges in 63 countries.
September net flows
Global net inflows totaled US$267,660 million. The Stock ETFs attracted US$124,320 million in net inflows, which raised the net inflows accumulated in the year to US$677,370 millionslightly below the US$695.89 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.
For their part, the Fixed income ETFs recorded net inflows worth US$49,360 millionand entries so far have reached US$314,230 millionexceeding the $248.31 billion raised at the end of September 2024.
The Commodity ETFs reported US$20.5 billion in net inflows in September, bringing year-to-date inflows to US$73,140 millionsignificantly higher than the US$1,070 million reported to date in 2024.
With respect to the Active ETFslast month they attracted US$70,590 million in net inflows, accumulating to date a total of US$447,720 millionfar above the US$239,150 million registered in the same period in 2024. The consulting firm’s data also show that the substantial entries can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which together brought together US$77,050 million during September. In that case, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF stands out when gathering US$18,670 millionthe largest single net income.
Financial advisors and expansion of the model
The ETF boom was also portrayed in a study by Cerulli Edgewhich states that the increase in allocations to ETFs by financial advisors consolidates itself as one of the main drivers of growth of the sector in the US: a 52% of asset managers consider it a key factor, while 48% identify it as a moderate driver.
In 2024, advisors assigned the 21.6% of assets to ETFscompared to the 11.2% registered in 2015. The progress of this vehicle has been accompanied by a decline in the use of mutual funds and individual securities. By 2026, advisors anticipate their exposure to ETFs will rise to 25.5%surpassing its projected allocation to mutual funds for the first time.
“Asset managers increasingly value the structural advantages of ETFs over fee-based mutual fund share classes, their tax efficiency derived from the creation and redemption mechanism, and the ability to trade them intraday in the market,” explained Kevin Lyonsof Cerulli Associates.
Perspectives and channels of greatest growth
The study reveals that the accelerated adoption of ETFs is concentrated in the channels “wirehouse” (large networks of intermediaries) and in the independent registered investment advisors (RIAs)which represent more than the half of retail assets in ETFs (54.6%). “Use within wirehouses is driven by the scale of these platforms, while independent RIAs have been early adopters of ETFs, thanks to demand for low-cost portfolio construction solutions,” Lyons explained.
Additionally, RIAs do not face the same product access limitations as traditional brokers, allowing them to more easily incorporate new ETFs hitting the market. For Cerullithe use of ETFs is will expand beyond traditional channelsas advisors become familiar with its application across asset classes and strategies.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
