- Total flows to mutual funds and ETFs for August were €79.06bn, increasing from July’s €36.02bn, and reversing a month-on-month decline since April.
- Bonds were the most successful asset class (+€38.53bn). MMFs followed (+€20.37bn), as equities rebounded from their heavy July outflows (+€16.43bn).
- Money Market USD funds rebounded from negative territory in July, to head up the monthly flows by Lipper Global Classification (+€13.53bn).
- Swiss assets suffered broad outflows, as the SNB cut the country’s base rate to 0%.
- JPMorgan was the most successful fund promoter over the month (+€12.86bn).
August saw generally positive sentiment across global markets, driven by resilient corporate earnings, moderating inflation, and growing expectations of interest rate cuts.
While tariff uncertainty persists, risk assets seem to have accepted the current level, along with the US Federal Reserve’s signalling that this should have a one-off impact on inflation. While Fed easing seemed increasingly likely, rate differentials between the US (along with the UK) and the rest of the developed world persist, which may have bolstered the attractions of USD money market funds (MMF), flows to which rebounded strongly in August (page 8).
US equities performed strongly, marking their fourth consecutive monthly gain, as strong Q2 earnings supported valuations. Materials, healthcare, and communication services led sector gains, while technology lagged due to concerns over generative AI projects’ delivery schedules. Most noteworthy, perhaps, is that August’s Equity US flows rebounded strongly from July’s record redemptions. In addition, Japan and Emerging Markets outperformed the FTSE All-World index, while the FTSE 100, Asia Pacific, Eurozone, and FTSE 250 lagged.
On the fixed-income front, high yield continued to outperform investment grade across regions, as German government bonds led sovereign bond performance, and yield curves continued to steepen.
Asset Type Flows
Asset Type Flows August 2025
Chart 1: Estimated Net Flows by Asset and Product Type – August 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
A generally positive month for fund sales across asset classes in August, led again by bond funds.
Total flows to mutual funds and ETFs for August were €79.06bn, markedly increasing from July’s €36.02bn. Mutual funds attracted €54.09bn, while ETFs took €24.98bn.
As stated, bonds were the most successful asset class (+€38.53bn: +€32.93bn MF/+€5.59bn ETF). MMFs followed once again (+€20.37bn: +€18.59bn MF/+€1.78bn ETF). Equities followed, rebounding from their heavy July outflows, albeit with continuing mutual fund redemptions (+€16.43bn: -€0.75bn/+€17.18bn ETF).
At some distance, alternatives posted another positive month (+€2.24bn: +€2.19bn MF/+€0.05bn ETF), and a positive, if subdued, month for mixed assets (+€2.07bn: +€2.02bn MF/+€0.05bn ETF). Commodity funds also saw modest inflows (+€0.48bn: +€0.15bn MF/+€0.33bn ETF).
Ony real estate funds suffered outflows (-€1.07bn, all from mutual funds).
Asset Type Flows Year to Date
Chart 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset and Product Type, January 1 – August 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Aggregate year-to-date flows were €474.37bn (+€269.68bn MF/+€204.69bn ETF).
Last month’s heavy equity outflows pushed the asset class from first to third place in YTD flows. Despite the rebound in equities in August, the overall YTD ranking remain the same. Bond funds continue to lead the pack (+€183.81bn: +€152.83bn MF/+€30.98bn ETF), then MMFs (+€146.74bn: +€133.15bn MF/+€13.59bn ETF). Equities follow (+€116.68bn: -€39.25bn MF/+€155.93bn ETF).
Further down the table, alternatives (+€14.03bn: +€12.2bn MF/+€1.838bn ETF), then mixed assets (+€13.98bn: +€13.44bn MF/+€0.54bn ETF), then commodity funds (+€5.68bn: +€3.87bn MF/+€1.81bn ETF) were all in the black.
Conversely, real estate (-€6.09bn, all MF) saw outflows over the year.
Fund Flows: Active vs Passive Products
Chart 3: Estimated Net Flows by Management Approach and Product Type, August 2025 (LHS);
January 1 – August 31, 2025 (RHS). €bn
Source: LSEG Lipper
Actively managed mutual funds netted €55.51bn in August, ahead of July’s €46.06. ETFs saw inflows of €24.98bn—marginally down on July. Mutual fund index trackers shed €1.42bn, a reduction of July’s figure. (YTD, those figures are +€291.81bn, +€204.69bn, and -€22.13bn).
When MMFs are stripped out YTD, flows to long-term assets in ETFs were €191.1bn, actively managed mutual funds’ share of long-term asset flows was €163.11bn, up from July’s €124.06bn, while index-tracking mutual funds lost €26.58bn.
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, August 2025
Chart 4: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, August 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Money Market USD funds rebounded from negative territory in July, to head up the monthly flows (+€13.53bn: +€12.4bn MF/+€1.13bn ETF). This may be to take advantage of higher US rates, but doesn’t explain July’s outflows.
Equity Global also moved from negative to positive over the period (+€8.5bn: +€3.14bn MF/+€5.36bn ETF). Likewise, at fifth place in the table, Equity US rebounded from their worst outflows to post gains, all from ETFs (+€5.7bn:
-€0.98bn MF/+€6.68bn ETF). That US MMFs and Equity US flows should move in tandem is noteworthy and may indicate that investors are managing their USD exposure, building up reserves to make further allocations to USD-denominated assets.
In another strong month for bonds, the strongest fixed income flows were to Bond Global USD (+€7.56bn: +€7.07bn MF/+€0.48bn ETF). Short-term fixed income (except for US government) also continued to sell well: Bond EUR Short Term (+€2.68bn) Bond Global Short Term (+€2.52bn), as curve steepening has continued to drive losses at the longer end of the curve in some markets.
Equity Europe glows, while still positive (+€1.63bn) slid out of the top 10, as Equity US returned to favour.
The Swiss franc is a solid safe-haven asset—possibly too safe, as the strengthening franc caused the Swiss National Bank to intervene, cutting the base rate to 0%. This likely spurred the €2.29bn redemptions from Money Market CHF vehicles in search of better yields over August. Equity Switzerland also saw outflows of €0.42bn, in a partial reversal of the previous month’s positive €3.21bn. Bond CHF (-€0.45bn) and Real Estate Switzerland (-€0.54bn) also sold off.
Equity UK continued to shed assets (-€1.97bn: -€2.27bn MF/+€0.3bn ETF). The largest outflows, however, were from Target Maturity Other (-€4.37bn: -€4.45bn MF/+€0.08bn ETF).
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, Year to Date
Chart 5: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, January 1 – August 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
August’s ranking remain unchanged from July, with Money Market EUR leading (+€75.75bn: +€68.02bn MF/+€7.75bn ETF), followed by Equity Global (+€62.99bn: +€15.98bn MF/+€47.01bn ETF), then Money Market USD (+€59.43bn: +€53.69bn MF/+€5.74bn ETF).
August’s strong flows to Equity US returned YTD flows to positive territory YTD, although now well outside the top 10 (+€3.41bn). Equity US Small & Mid Cap, on the other hand, stay solidly in the red (-€5.58bn), despite modest inflows for the month. Equity UK suffers the worst YTD outflows (-€14.95bn), mainly because of domestic selling.
Fund Flows by Promoter
Fund Flows by Promoter, August 2025
Chart 6: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, August 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10 companies in the table above accounted for 73.67% (compared to 131% for July) of flows over the month, summing to €58.25bn.
JPMorgan led the field in August, mainly through mutual fund sales, having been absent from the top 10 in July (+€12.86bn: +€12.21bn MFs/+€0.65bn ETFs). BlackRock also returned to the ranking, powered by ETF sales (+€10.87bn: +€1.83bn MFs/+€9.04bn ETFs).
Fund Flows by Promoter, Year to Date
Chart 7: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, January 1 – August 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
BlackRock’s robust August sales propelled it back to the top of the YTD table, as by far the dominant ETF player in the European market (+€33.75bn: -€39.72n MFs/+€73.47bn ETFs). The company was followed by BNP Paribas (+€33.34bn: +€27.58bn MFs/+€5.76bn ETFs) and JPMorgan (+€29.86bn: +€24.66bn MFs/+€5.2bn ETFs)
The sales of the 10 top-selling managers for the month summed to €250.83bn, or 52.88%, of the total.
