This article is an extension to the monthly European ETF Industry Review – April 2026.
Inflows into the European ETF industry over the course of April (+€37.4 bn) were much stronger than those for March (+€10.5 bn) but were still way below the record-high monthly inflows for January and February. Even as these inflows were not surprising since securities markets were volatile, they showed a generally positive performance over the course of the month. The inflows can be considered as remarkable given the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and its strong impact on the price of oil and resulting higher inflation rates. Nevertheless, these inflows show how fast European ETF investors react to changes in the general market environment.
The inflows in the European ETF industry for April were driven by equity ETFs (+€29.2 bn), followed by bond ETFs (+€7.9 bn) and money market ETFs (+€0.7 bn). On the other side of the table, mixed-assets ETFs (-€0.01 bn), alternatives ETFs (-€0.2 bn), and commodities ETFs (-€0.3 bn) faced outflows. The strong inflows into equity ETFs might be seen as a sign that European ETF investors are in risk-on mode.
Graph 1: Estimated Net Sales by Asset Type, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
A closer look at the estimated net inflows at the classification level shows that the estimated net inflows into the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications accounted for €30.5 bn. In line with the overall sales trend for April, equity peer groups (+€26.6 bn) dominated the flows by asset type on the table of the 10 best-selling peer groups by estimated net inflows. On the other side of the table, the 10 classifications with the highest estimated net outflows for April accounted for €4.0 bn in outflows. When it comes to the overall market environment, it was not surprising that the outflows for April were way below the outflows for March (-€12.3 bn).
Graph 2: Ten Best- and Worst-Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Estimated Net Flows in Equity ETFs
With regard to the overall fund flow trend in the European ETF industry, the fund flow picture for the best-selling Lipper classifications looked like business as usual since Equity Global (+€13.5 bn) was the best-selling Lipper global classification for April. It was followed by Equity U.S. (+€5.9 bn), Equity Sector Information Technology (+€2.0 bn), Equity Emerging Markets Global (+€2.0 bn), Equity Switzerland (+€1.4 bn), Equity Sector Industrials (+€0.9 bn), and Equity Theme – Alternative Energy (+€0.9 bn). Despite the fact that the Equity U.S. classification faced outflows over the course of March, it became the second best-selling Lipper classification overall for April.
Generally speaking, it was surprising that Equity Europe is not on the table of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications since there seems to be no reason why the trend toward European equities—which started in 2024—should in general be broken. That said, Equity Europe (-€1.0 bn) was the Lipper global classification with the highest outflows for the month. These outflows might have been caused by profit taking since some European equity indices reached new all-time highs over the course of the month. Nevertheless, this is a development which needs to be watched over the course of the upcoming month to see if the trend toward European equities is still in place or not. Conversely, it was somewhat surprising to see Equity U.S. returned to one of the top spots on the list over the course of April.
Mid and Small Caps Seem to be Out of Favor
In search of diversification, investors around the globe turned to small & mid caps since these stocks seemed to be fairly priced or even undervalued, especially compared to the high valuation and the respectively high weighting in the common stock market indices of some technology companies. Despite the fact that these valuations haven’t come down significantly, it looks like European ETF investors have lost their interest in small & mid caps, as the 12 small & mid cap classifications in the Lipper classification scheme faced outflows of €0.9 bn overall. That said, Equity Switzerland Small & Mid Cap (+€0.02 bn), was the best-selling mid and small cap classification for the month. It was followed by Equity Sweden Small & Mid Cap (+€0.01 bn) and Equity Global Small & Mid Cap (+€0.01 bn). While Equity Emerging Markets Global Small & Mid Cap showed no flows over the course of the month, all other small & mid cap classifications faced outflows for the month.
Graph 3: Estimated Net Sales in Equity Small & Mid Cap Classifications, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Equity Sector ETFs – A Segment to Watch?
If there are any major shifts in the asset allocation of European ETF investors underway, these should become visible in their allocations of ETFs investing in specific equity sectors. That said, the assets under management in the different equity sectors indicate that the usage of specific industry sectors to implement asset allocation views is not a common investment strategy among European ETF investors. Nevertheless, the current flows in sector related ETFs indicate that European ETF investors are fancying technology investments since ETFs classified as Equity Sector Information Technology (+€2.0 bn) enjoyed the highest inflows for the last 12 months in April 2026. Conversely, ETFs classified as Equity Sector Financials (-€0.4 bn) and Equity Sector Healthcare (-€0.9 bn) faced the second consecutive month with outflows. This flow pattern may indicate that European investors are selling more value-oriented sectors to buy into information technology. Since the overall amounts are small and the timeframe of the observation is short, this is a space to watch to see if there is an investment trend materializing.
Graph 4: Estimated Net Sales in Equity Sector Classifications, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Estimated Net Flows in Bond ETFs
With regard to the overall political, geopolitical, and fiscal situation around the globe, it was surprising that two of the three bond classifications on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications for the month were denominated in USD given the overall concerns about the amount of outstanding debt and its possible impact on the interest rates in the U.S. In more detail, Bond EMU Government (+€1.6 bn) was the best-selling Lipper bond classification for the month. It was followed by Bond Global USD (+€1.2 bn), Bond USD Government (+€1.1 bn), Bond Emerging Markets Global in Hard Currencies (+€0.5 bn), Bond USD High Yield (+€0.5 bn), Bond EUR Inflation Linked (+€0.4 bn), Bond EUR Corporates Short Term (+€0.3 bn), Bond EMU Government Long Term (+€0.3 bn), Bond GBP Government (+€0.3 bn), and Bond Global Corporates USD (+€0.3 bn).
At the other end of the table, Bond Global Corporates GBP (-€0.2 bn) faced the highest outflows of all Lipper bond classifications. It was bettered by Bond Emerging Markets Global in Local Currencies (-€0.1 bn) and Bond USD Government Short Term (-€0.1 bn).
These numbers suggest that there is currently no trend visible in the segment of bond ETFs. Even the opposite numbers for Bond Emerging Markets Global in Hard and Local Currencies do not mark a real trend since the overall numbers are too small. Hence, these flows might have been caused by a single investor or a small group of investors, which means any interpretation would lead into a wrong direction for the overall market.
Estimated Net Flows in Commodities ETFs
Given the overall geopolitical situation globally, the outflows from commodities ETFs (-€0.3 bn) might be surprising, especially as Commodity Energy faced outflows (-€0.03 bn) despite an increasing price for oil.
That said, the general flow pattern for commodities ETFs does not look unusual. European investors have returned to Commodity Precious Metals (+€0.2 bn). In fact, the classification was the best-selling commodities classification for the month after some outflows over the course of Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
Graph 5: Estimated Net Sales in Commodities Classifications, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Since the estimated net flows for commodities ETFs are in general low, the flow pattern for April can’t be analyzed for any major trends. From my point of view, the flow pattern in commodities ETFs over the course of the month seems to be in line with expectations, except for Commodities Energy, given the current market environment. Commodity Precious Metals (+€0.2 bn) was the best-selling commodities classification for April. It was followed by Commodity Industrial Metals (+€0.02 bn), while Commodity Other (-€0.02 bn), Commodity Energy (-€0.03 bn), and Commodity Blended (-€0.4 bn) faced outflows.
Estimated Net Flows in Money Market ETFs
After the relatively strong inflows into money market products over the last 18 months, it is somewhat surprising that no money market classification can be found on the table of the 10 best-selling Lipper Global Classifications in the European ETF industry for the month. That said, it looks like the flows into money market ETFs have further normalized over the course of April 2026.
Graph 6: Estimated Net Sales in Money Market Classifications, April 1 – April 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Since money market is not a core asset type in the European ETF industry, it is no surprise to see only low overall flow numbers for this kind of ETF. Money Market EUR (+€0.6 bn) was the best-selling money market classification for April. It was followed by Money Market USD (+€0.1 bn) and Money Market GBP (+€0.02 bn), while Money Market CHF (-€0.01 bn) faced outflows.
The views expressed are the views of the author, not necessarily those of LSEG.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.
