The European ETF industry enjoyed strong inflows over the course of June.
These inflows occur in a market environment which brought a notable shift in the narrative that had dominated global markets for much of the spring. The sharp rise in energy prices triggered by the Middle East conflict began to unwind, but investors remained focused on the implications for inflation, central-bank policy and government borrowing costs. Equity and bond markets reacted differently, reflecting a growing divide between optimism over economic resilience and caution about the longer-term outlook for inflation and interest rates.
The most important development was geopolitical. After months of disruption, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on 18 June that included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices fell sharply, as fears of a prolonged supply shock faded. The agreement improved risk sentiment globally and reduced immediate concerns about energy driven inflation. Markets nevertheless remained alert, as occasional military incidents later in the month showed how fragile the situation remained.
Central-bank policy became the second major driver. In the United States, the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and adopted a cautious stance. Investors increasingly concluded that the next move was unlikely to be a rate cut. Expectations of a higher-for-longer rate environment strengthened during the month, pushing bond investors to reassess valuation assumptions.
The European Central Bank moved in the opposite direction. Confronted by inflation above target and concerned about the second-round effects of higher energy costs, the ECB raised interest rates in June. The decision reinforced the view that Europe faced a more difficult inflation challenge than many investors had anticipated earlier in the year.
Japan remained on its gradual path towards policy normalisation. The Bank of Japan maintained its tightening bias after lifting rates in the previous cycle, reflecting inflation that remained above levels seen in the decade before the pandemic. While policy changes were limited during June, investors continued to monitor the implications of higher Japanese rates for global capital flows and sovereign bond markets.
Equity markets produced mixed results. The relief rally triggered by lower oil prices was offset by profit-taking in technology stocks after their strong gains earlier in the quarter. European markets outperformed the United States and Asia. Enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence remained a powerful theme, although investors became more selective, favouring companies with visible earnings growth over those trading on ambitious expectations alone.
Bond markets were steadier than earlier in the year. Falling oil prices supported government debt, and yields declined across many developed markets. That said, long-dated bond yields remained high by historical standards as investors demanded compensation for inflation uncertainty and rising public borrowing requirements. However, the prospect of tighter monetary policy, particularly in Europe, prevented a stronger rally. Corporate bonds held up relatively well despite some widening in credit spreads.
By the end of June, markets had shifted from worrying about an energy shock to debating how quickly inflation would recede and whether central banks could avoid keeping policy restrictive for longer. Equities welcomed the decline in oil prices. Bond investors remained less convinced. The difference in outlook defined market behaviour throughout the month.
From a European ETF industry perspective, the performance of the underlying markets led, in combination with the estimated net flows, to increasing assets under management (from €3,025.0 bn as of May 31, 2026, to €3,099.5 bn at the end of June). At a closer look, the increase in assets under management of €74.5 bn for June was driven by estimated net inflows (+€39.5 bn), while the performance of the underlying markets added €35.0 bn to the increase in assets under management.
Assets Under Management in the European ETF Industry
June 2026 marked a new record-breaking month for the European ETF industry, as the assets under management held in ETFs in Europe reached €3,099.5 bn at the end of a month.
As for the overall structure of the European ETF industry, it was not surprising equity ETFs (€2,430.0 bn) held the majority of assets, followed by bond ETFs (€542.3 bn), commodities ETFs (€57.5 bn), money market ETFs (€54.1 bn), alternatives ETFs (€10.3 bn), and mixed-assets ETFs (€5.4 bn).
Graph 1: Market Share, Assets Under Management in the European ETF Segment by Asset Type, June 30, 2026
Source: LSEG Lipper
Given the positive market environment over the course of the month, it is no surprise that the overall assets under management (AUM) in the European ETF industry as well as the AUM for all asset types with the exception of commodities and money market ETFs have reached new month end all-time highs at the end of June 2026.
ETF Flows by Asset Type
The inflows into the European ETF industry over the course of June (+€39.5 bn) proved the trend of elevated inflows into ETFs in 2026 compared to previous years. The estimated net inflows for June were above the rolling 12-month average flows (€35.2 bn). Given the positive but volatile market environment, these inflows showcase that European ETF investors were in risk-on mode in June.
In addition to this, it is noteworthy that the general fund flow trend for the year is set to reach a new all-time high on an annual basis at the end of the year. This showcases that the popularity of ETFs among European investors is still growing despite the already in general higher inflows over the course of the years 2024 and 2025.
The inflows in the European ETF industry for June were driven by equity ETFs (+€30.7 bn), followed by bond ETFs (+€7.6 bn), money market ETFs (+€0.9 bn), alternatives ETFs (+€0.2 bn), commodities ETFs (+€0.1 bn), while mixed-assets ETFs (-€0.04 bn) faced slight outflows.
Graph 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset Type, June 1 – June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Given the general market environment, it was not surprising to see that the estimated net inflows into ETFs were led by equity ETFs over the course of the month. In combination with the inflows into bond ETFs, this might be seen as a sign that European investors are in risk-on mode.
Assets Under Management by Lipper Global Classifications
In order to examine the European ETF markets in further detail, a review of the Lipper global classifications will lead to more insights on the structure and concentration of assets within the European ETF industry. At the end of June, the European ETF market was split into 191 different peer groups. The highest assets under management at the end of June were held by ETFs classified as Equity U.S. (€732.2 bn), followed by Equity Global (€616.1 bn), Equity Europe (€248.2 bn), Equity Emerging Markets Global (€177.2 bn), and Equity Sector Information Technology (€85.5 bn). These five peer groups accounted for €1,859.2 bn, or 59.98%, of the overall assets under management in the European ETF segment, while the 10-top classifications by assets under management accounted for €2,124.4 bn, or 68.54%.
Overall, 16 of the 191 Lipper classifications each accounted for more than 1% of assets under management. In total, these 16 classifications accounted for €2,352.4 bn, or 75.90%, of the overall assets under management (Please read the article: Review of the Market Concentration of Assets Under Management in the European ETF Industry at the Classification Level for information on this topic).
Graph 3: Ten Largest Lipper Global Classifications by Assets Under Management, June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
More generally, the rankings of the largest classifications saw some movement in single positions over the last few years. As the positions of the classifications had been quite stable in the past, this indicates that European investors use ETFs to trade according to their market views. Even as some of these positions might be core holdings, once investors got into risk-off mode they also reduced their exposure to core asset classes.
Despite the fact that the rankings at the top of the league show some changes from time to time, these numbers show that the assets under management by Lipper global classifications continued to be highly concentrated in the European ETF industry.
The classifications on the other side of the table showed some funds in the European ETF market are quite low in assets and their constituents may face the risk of being closed in the near future. They are obviously lacking investor interest and might, therefore, not be profitable for their respective fund promoters (Please read our report: “Will the ETFs in the Smallest Lipper Classifications in the European ETF Industry Survive?” for more details on this topic).
Graph 4: Ten Smallest Lipper Global Classifications by Assets Under Management, June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
ETF Flows by Lipper Global Classifications
The net inflows of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications accounted for €34.6 bn. In line with the overall sales trend for June, equity peer groups (+€31.0 bn) dominated the flows by asset type on the table of the 10 best-selling peer groups by estimated net inflows. That said, it was surprising to see no plain vanilla EUR bond classifications on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications for the month given the overall concerns on the amount of outstanding debt and the impact of possibly increasing interest rates in the U.S. That said, it looks like European ETF investors are expecting the U.S. dollar to stay strong against the euro.
Given the overall fund flow trend in the European ETF industry, it was not surprising that Equity Global (+€14.6 bn) was the best-selling Lipper global classification for June. It was followed by Equity U.S. (+€10.9 bn), Equity Sector Information Technology (+€1.7 bn), Equity Japan (+€1.3 bn), and Equity US Small & Mid Caps (+€1.3 bn).
Generally speaking, it is surprising that Equity Europe is not on the table of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications since the valuations of European equities seem to be somewhat lower than for their U.S. peers. That said, it looks rather than the trend towards European equities as Equity Europe (-€2.0 bn) was in fact the Lipper global classification with the highest outflows for the month. Overall, June 26 was the third consecutive month with outflows from ETFs classified as Equity Europe.
Graph 5: Ten Best- and Worst-Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, June 1 – June 30, 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 June accounted for €5.2 bn in outflows, which was above the outflows for May (-€4.4 bn).
Equity Europe (-€2.0 bn) was the classification with the highest outflows for the month. It was bettered by Equity Sector Energy (-€0.8 bn), Equity Sector Consumer Staples (-€0.5 bn), Equity Sector Gold & Precious Metals (-€0.4 bn), and Equity Theme – Alternative Energy (-€0.4 bn).
Assets Under Management by Promoters
A closer look at assets under management by promoters in the European ETF industry also showed high concentration, with only 39 of the 108 ETF promoters in Europe holding assets at or above €1.0 bn, accounting for €3,088.0 bn. Since Lipper has readjusted its definition of an ETF promoter, the number of ETF promoters in Europe has gone up sharply from 78 in April 2026, as we now also list ETF promoters which are using white label platforms for their products as standalone promoters. The largest ETF promoter in Europe—iShares (€1,265.0 bn)—accounted for 40.81% of the overall assets under management. This number is far ahead of the number-two promoter—Amundi ETF (€402.0 bn)—and the number-three promoter—Xtrackers (€320.7 bn). (To learn more about the concentration of the European ETF market at the promoter level, please read our report: Review of the concentration of the assets under management in the European ETF industry on promoter level).
Graph 6: The 10 Largest ETF Promoters by Assets Under Management, June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10-top promoters accounted for (€2,859.0 bn) 92.24% of the overall assets under management in the European ETF industry. This meant, in turn, the other 98 ETF promoters registering at least one ETF for sale in Europe accounted for only 7.76% of the overall assets under management.
ETF Flows by Promoters
Since the European ETF market is highly concentrated when it comes to assets under management by promoter, it was not surprising that nine of the 10 largest promoters by assets under management were among the 10-top selling ETF promoters for the month. iShares was the best-selling ETF promoter in Europe for June (+€10.6 bn), ahead of Vanguard (+€5.0 bn) and Amundi ETF (+€4.8 bn).
Graph 7: Ten Best-Selling ETF Promoters, June 1 – June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The flows of the 10-top promoters accounted for estimated net inflows of €36.1 bn. As for the overall flow trend for June, it was clear that some of the 108 promoters (23) faced estimated net outflows (-€1.0 bn in total) over the course of the month.
Assets Under Management by ETFs
There were 4,989 instruments (primary share classes [2,578] and convenience share classes [2,411]) listed as ETFs in the Lipper database at the end of June. Regarding the overall market pattern, it was not surprising assets under management at the ETF level were also highly concentrated. Only 554 of the 2,578 ETFs (primary share classes = portfolios = ETFs) held assets above €1.0 bn each. These ETFs accounted for €2,679.1 bn, or 86.44%, of the overall assets in the European ETF industry. The 10 largest ETFs in Europe accounted for €612.3 bn, or 19.75%, of the overall assets under management.
Graph 8: The 10 Largest ETFs by Assets Under Management, June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Estimated Net Flows at the ETF Level
A total of 1,275 of the 2,578 ETFs (primary share classes = portfolios = ETFs) analyzed in this report showed net inflows of more than €10,000 each for June, accounting for inflows of €69.9 bn. This meant the other 1,303 instruments faced no flows, or net outflows, for the month. Upon closer inspection, only 160 of the 1,275 ETFs posting net inflows enjoyed inflows of more than €100 m over the course of June—for a total of €50.5 bn. The best-selling ETF for June was again Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF, which enjoyed estimated net inflows of €3.5 bn. It was followed by BNP Paribas Easy S&P 500 II UCITS ETF (+€3.1 bn) and State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World Index UCITS ETF (+€1.7 bn).
Graph 9: The 10 Best-Selling ETFs, June 1 – June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The flow pattern at the fund level indicated there was a lot of turnover and rotation during the month, but it also showed the concentration of the European ETF industry even better than the statistics at the promoter or classification levels since the 10 best-selling ETFs account for inflows of €15.7 bn.
Given its size and the overall trend for net sales at the promoter level, it was surprising that only three of the 10 best-selling funds for June were issued by iShares. These iShares ETFs accounted for estimated net inflows of €3.1 bn.
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.
