- Total flows to mutual funds and ETFs for September were €66.45bn, down on August’s €79.06bn, but otherwise ahead of every month since February
- Bonds led sales (+€28.82bn), as equities followed (+€23.44bn)
- Money Market USD funds were Europe’s best-selling classification for the second month (+€15.51bn), with strong flows to Equity US (+€6.23bn)
- Equity UK saw large redemptions (-€1.16bn), driven by domestic selling, while Money Market EUR saw the largest outflows for the month (-€8.22bn)
- BlackRock was the most successful fund promoter over the month (+€17.89bn)
While US small caps outperformed over the third quarter, it’s still their large-cap peers that are attracting the lion’s share of the equity fund flows. Across equities, the Russell 2000, Emerging, Japan, and Russell 1000 indices outperformed FTSE All-World, while the Asia Pacific, FTSE 100, Eurozone, and FTSE 250 indices lagged in Q3. In style terms, value outperformed except in the US and emerging markets, while SMID lagged broadly (US SMID outperformance being the exception) suggesting cheaper but larger stocks led the rally in most regions according to FTSE Russell analysis. Although money market fund flows (MMF) were relatively flat over September, this conceals a rotation out of the euro into dollar funds—the latter being the best-selling classification for the month.
Despite equity strength, bonds were the month’s best-selling asset class, as indeed they are year to date, with Bond USD Global funds being the best-selling classification for this asset class, both in September and YTD. While Euro and GBP high-yield (HY) continued to outperform their IG counterparts, EM $ and US IG bucked YTD trends to lead their respective HY corporates over the quarter.
Fiscal and debt sustainability concerns were to the fore in markets such as the UK, where yields rose across the curve despite a 25-basis-point (bp) policy rate cut during the quarter. Consequently, despite the higher yields on offer further out on the yield curve, we are still seeing short-dated bond classifications sell well.
Asset Type Flows
Asset Type Flows September 2025
Chart 1: Estimated Net Flows by Asset and Product Type – September 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
A positive month for fund sales across all but one asset classes in September, led again by bond funds, but with equity ETF sales surging to their highest levels YTD, virtually scurrying up that wall of worry, in the wake of a strongly negative July.
Total flows to mutual funds and ETFs for September were €66.45bn, down on August’s €79.06bn, but otherwise ahead of every month since February. Mutual funds attracted €29.74bn, while ETFs took €36.7bn.
Bonds led sales (+€28.82bn: +€25.21bn MF/+€3.61bn ETF). Equities followed (+€23.44bn: -€7.89bn MF/+€31.33bn ETF), then, at some distance, mixed assets (+€5.07bn: +€4.94bn MF/+€0.13bn ETF) and MMFs (+€4.64bn: +€4.07bn MF/ +€0.57bn ETF).
Commodities saw another positive month (+€2.41bn: +€1.28bn MF/+€1.13bn ETF), as did alternatives (+€1.98bn: +€2.05bn MF/-€0.07bn ETF), and—into the black after August’s redemptions—real estate (+€0.24bn, all MF).
Ony “other” funds suffered outflows (-€0.15bn, all from mutual funds).
Asset Type Flows Year to Date
Chart 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset and Product Type, January 1 – September 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Aggregate year-to-date flows were €539.24bn (+€296.6bn MF/+€242.64bn ETF).
July’s heavy equity outflows pushed the asset class from first to third place in YTD flows, and it remains there in September. Bond funds continue to lead (+€204.37bn: +€169.77bn MF/+€34.6bn ETF), then MMFs (+€151.24bn: +€137.08bn MF/+€14.16bn ETF). Equities follow (+€143.23bn: -€45.28bn MF/+€188.51bn ETF).
Further down the table, mixed assets (+€22.81bn: +€22.16bn MF/+€0.65bn ETF) move ahead of alternatives (+€16.85bn: +€15.06bn MF/+€1.78bn ETF), then commodity funds (+€8.09bn: +€5.15bn MF/+€2.94bn ETF) were all in the black.
Conversely, other (-€0.62bn), and real estate (-€6.73bn, all MF) saw outflows over the year.
Fund Flows Active vs Passive Products
Chart 3: Estimated Net Flows by Management Approach and Product Type, September 2025 (LHS);
January 1 – September 31, 2025 (RHS). €bn
Source: LSEG Lipper
Actively managed mutual funds netted €27.21bn in September, down from August’s €55.51bn. ETFs saw inflows of €36.7bn—about 50% up on August. Mutual fund index trackers attracted €2.53bn, reversing the previous months’ redemptions (YTD, those figures are +€316.05bn, +€242.64bn, and -€19.44bn).
When MMFs are stripped out YTD, flows to long-term assets in ETFs were €228.48bn, actively managed mutual funds’ share of long-term asset flows was €1b3.53bn, while index-tracking mutual funds lost €24.01bn.
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, September 2025
Chart 4: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, September 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Money Market USD funds were Europe’s best-selling classification for the second straight month (+€15.51bn, almost all in MFs), in contrast to July, where these vehicles saw large outflows. This may be to take advantage of higher US rates while they last, and/or as cash on the sidelines to buy the dollar-denominated assets that everyone clearly craves.
This was demonstrated by second-placed Bond Global USD (+€7.86bn: +€7.29bn MF/+€0.57n ETF) and third-placed Equity US (+€6.23bn: -€1.42bn MF/+€7.4bn ETF), the latter moving further up the rankings from August after, again, having sold off heavily in July.
Equity Emerging Markets Global continuing outperformance was rewarded with further inflows (+€4.25bn: +€1.05bn MF/ +€3.2bn ETF). Financials, driven primarily by banks, performed strongly over Q3, and this attracted €3.2bn to Equity Sector Financials funds over the month. Similarly, Equity Sector Gold & Precious Metals and Commodity Precious Metals were likely beneficiaries of gold’s strong run, with inflows of €2.43bn and €2.03bn, respectively.
Interestingly, while Equity Global saw the largest outflows in the UK this month, over Europe as a whole it’s still well in positive territory, albeit not enough to make it onto the left-hand side of chart 4 (+€1.02bn). So the UK has taken one view on global equities, and the Continent in aggregate, very much the other. Equity UK again saw outflows (-€1.16bn: -€1.40bn MF/+€0.24n ETF), driven by domestic selling, while Money Market EUR saw the largest outflows for the month (-€8.22bn).
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, Year to Date
Chart 5: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, January 1 – September 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
September’s strong inflows to Money Market USD and redemptions for its EUR counterpart bumps the former up to first place (+€74.97bn: +€69.28bn MF/+€5.69bn ETF) and drops the latter down a place (+€67.31bn: +€60.62bn MF/+€6.69bn ETF).
Bond Global USD is the most popular fixed income classification YTD (+€33.96bn: +€29.81bn MF/+€4.15bn ETF). Short-term bond classifications retain their place, with Bond Global Short Term (+€20.89bn) and Bond EUR Short Term (+€20.56bn), despite steepening yield curves offering higher yields further out.
Despite the strong flows for Equity US of late, July’s major redemptions mean it’s not in the top 10 YTD. Instead, Equity Global (+€66.27bn: +€18.99bn MF/+€47.28bn ETF) and Equity Europe (+€28.46bn: +€11.18bn MF/+€17.28bn ETF) have proven the most popular for the asset class, although the initial enthusiasm for the latter has ebbed to a degree over Q3.
On the negative side of the equation, disquiet over US equities has made itself felt through redemptions from Equity US Small & Mid Cap (-€5.04bn), despite strong performance over Q3, and Equity UK continues as an unloved classification
(-€16.11bn), although this market has outperformed over 2025.
Fund Flows by Promoter
Fund Flows by Promoter, September 2025
Chart 6: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, September 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10 companies in the table above accounted for 78.98% (compared to 73.67% for August) of flows over the month, summing to €52.48bn.
BlackRock led the field in September, mainly through ETF sales (+€17.89bn: +€4.35bn MFs/+€13.54bn ETFs), followed at some distance by DWS (+€7.02bn: +€3.21bn MFs/+€3.81bn ETFs), and Pimco (+€6.58bn: +€6.42bn MFs/+€0.16bn ETFs), who had the largest mutual fund flows.
Fund Flows by Promoter, Year to Date
Chart 7: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, January 1 – September 31, 2025 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
BlackRock consolidated its lead in September, as by far the dominant ETF player in the European market (+€51.64bn:
-€25.07n MFs/+€76.72bn ETFs). Clustering by the following firms means that YTD rankings can change quite a bit, and this is true this month, with DWS taking the second place (+€34.14bn: +€17.37bn MFs/+€16.77bn ETFs) and then Vanguard (+€32.88bn: +€13.23bn MFs/+€19.65bn ETFs). HSBC follows, with the largest MF sales (+€31.49bn: +€26.25bn MFs/+€5.24bn ETFs)
The sales of the 10 top-selling managers for the month summed to €277.87bn, or 51.53%, of the total.
