The inflows into the European ETF industry over the course of February (+€48.4 bn) hit a new all-time high. This means the general fund flow trend is set to reach a new all-time high on an annual basis at the end of the year. This shows that the popularity of ETFs among European investors is still growing despite the already in general increasing inflows over the course of the years 2024 and 2025.
In more detail, the inflows in the European ETF industry for February were driven by equity ETFs (+€39.4 bn), followed by bond ETFs (+€7.1 bn), money market ETFs (+€1.3 bn), commodities ETFs (+€0.4 bn), alternatives ETFs (+€0.1 bn), and mixed-assets ETFs (+€0.1 bn). Given the strong inflows into equity ETFs, it can be said that European investors were further in a risk-on mode, despite the increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
A view on the estimated net flows by Lipper global classification helps analyze the flow pattern even further and unveil underlying market trends.
The net inflows of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications accounted for €30.7 bn. In line with the overall sales trend for February, equity classifications (+€27.9 bn) dominated the flows by asset type on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications by estimated net inflows for February. That said, it was still somewhat surprising to see only one bond and one money market classification on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications for the month, taking the general market sentiment into account. Given the overall fund flow trend in the European ETF industry, it was not surprising that Equity Global (+€8.0 bn) was the best-selling Lipper global classification for February. It was followed by Equity Emerging Markets Global (+€7.1 bn), Equity Europe (+€4.2 bn), Equity U.S. (+€2.0 bn), and Equity Sector Industrials (+€1.8 bn).
That said, the high inflows into Equity Emerging Markets Global might be seen as a sign for the fact that European investors are in risk-on mode, since these flows are not offset on the side of the table. In fact, Equity China (-€0.4 bn), and Equity Turkey (-€0.1 bn) were the only two emerging markets classifications which witnessed outflows over the course of the month.
Generally speaking, it is not surprising that Equity Europe is in one of the top spots on the table of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications given the long-term trend of increasing flows into ETFs investing in European equities. From a market perspective, this trend was caused by better (lower) valuations and the good performance of European equities compared to their U.S. peers.
In addition to this, it is also not surprising to see Equity Sector Industrials on the list of the 10 best-selling classifications for February, since the classification profited from the strong inflows into defense-related ETFs and the overall sector rotation toward classic value sectors. Conversely, it was surprising to see Equity U.S. on the second half of the table, since this classification is normally one of European investors’ favorites.
As mentioned above, it was surprising to see only one bond classification on the list of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications for the month. Nevertheless, it is even more surprising that this classification was Bond Global USD (+€1.5 bn) given the somewhat negative expectations for the U.S. dollar compared to the euro.
From a bond classification perspective, Bond Global USD was followed by Bond EMU Government Long Term (+€1.0 bn), Bond EMU Government Short Term (+€0.7 bn), Bond Emerging Markets in Hard Currencies (+€0.7 bn), and Bond Emerging Markets in Local Currencies (+€0.6 bn). Conversely, Bond USD Government Short Term (-€0.6 bn), Bond USD Corporates (-€0.5 bn), Bond USD High Yield (-€0.3 bn), Bond USD Government (-€0.2 bn), and Bond EUR Short Term (-€0.1 bn) faced outflows.
Investing in money market products is only a minor trend in the European ETF industry which continued over the course of February. With regard to this, one needs to bear in mind that money market is in general not a core asset type for European ETF investors. Therefore, it is still somewhat surprising to see a money market classification (Money Market EUR +€1.3 bn) on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications in the European ETF industry.
Graph 1: Ten Best- and Worst-Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, February 1 – February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
More generally, these numbers showed the European ETF segment is also highly concentrated when it comes to fund flows by Lipper classification. Generally speaking, one would expect the flows into ETFs to be concentrated since investors often use ETFs to implement their market views and short-term asset allocation decisions. These products are made and, therefore, are easy to use for these purposes.
On the other side of the table, the 10 classifications with the highest estimated net outflows for February accounted for €2.8 bn in outflows.
Bond USD Government Short Term (-€0.6 bn) was the classification with the highest outflows for the month. It was bettered by Bond USD Corporates (-€0.5 bn), Commodity Precious Metals (-€0.5 bn), Equity China (-€0.4 bn), and Bond USD High Yield (-€0.3 bn).
That said, there was no general theme visible which caused the outflows at the classifications level. One may argue that the four U.S. dollar denominated bond ETFs may be such a theme, but given the quite low outflows this looks rather like the adjustment of single positions than a shift in the general asset allocation. The same seemed to be true for Commodity Precious Metals, as the relatively low outflows may indicate that some investors realized profits rather than indicating a shift in asset allocations.
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.
