The global ETF industry enjoyed strong inflows over the course of September. Nevertheless, September 2026 marked a challenging month for global financial markets as investors confronted a combination of renewed geopolitical tensions, rising energy prices, persistent inflation pressures, and a more hawkish stance from major central banks. Equity markets delivered mixed performances across regions, while government bond markets experienced renewed volatility as expectations for interest rates shifted higher. Investor sentiment remained cautious but not outright bearish, reflecting continued economic resilience across major economies despite mounting risks.
The dominant geopolitical development was the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, which drove a sharp increase in oil and natural gas prices. Policymakers at the European Central Bank (ECB) noted that the conflict had materially altered the inflation outlook, with higher energy costs feeding into expectations for consumer prices across developed economies. Markets increasingly feared that what initially appeared to be a temporary commodity shock could evolve into a more prolonged inflationary episode.
These developments arrived at a time when governments across Europe, North America, and Asia were maintaining elevated fiscal spending. Defense expenditures, industrial policy initiatives, and infrastructure investments continued to support economic activity, helping offset weakening global trade. While fiscal expansion supported corporate earnings and employment, investors also worried that continued government spending could complicate efforts by central banks to return inflation to target.
The most significant monetary policy event came from the Federal Reserve. At its September meeting, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points (bps), citing resilient economic growth, strong productivity gains, and inflation that remained above its long-term objective. The decision surprised investors who had expected the central bank to remain on hold, triggering a sharp repricing across bond markets.
As a result, U.S. Treasury yields climbed significantly during the month, with long-dated yields approaching cycle highs. Equity investors responded by reducing exposure to interest rate-sensitive sectors while maintaining positions in companies benefiting from artificial intelligence investment and strong earnings growth. Although major indices retreated modestly, market sentiment remained relatively constructive because recession concerns stayed limited.
In Europe, the ECB also tightened policy, as policymakers increased key interest rates by 25 bps after concluding that higher energy prices threatened to keep inflation above target for longer. The Governing Council acknowledged that economic growth remained moderate but judged inflation risks being the greater challenge. European government bond yields rose in response, while investors revised expectations for future monetary easing.
European equities proved relatively resilient despite higher borrowing costs. Investors were encouraged by ongoing fiscal support, defense spending, and improving corporate earnings. Financial stocks benefited from higher rates, while industrial companies continued to gain support from infrastructure and energy-transition investment programs. Market participation broadened beyond technology, helping European indices outperform many global peers.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan continued its gradual policy normalization process. Japanese equities remained among the strongest performers in developed markets, supported by corporate reforms, healthy earnings, and sustained domestic investment.
By the end of September, investor sentiment had become increasingly selective. Markets no longer expected a rapid return to lower interest rates, and both equity and bond investors focused on sectors and regions capable of navigating a higher-for-longer rate environment. The combination of geopolitical uncertainty, supportive fiscal policy, and renewed central bank tightening ultimately defined market performance throughout the month, reinforcing the view that inflation remained the principal challenge facing global investors.
From a U.S. ETF industry perspective, the estimated net flows led, in combination with the performance of the underlying markets, to decreasing assets under management (from $16,400.1 bn as of August 31, 2026, to $16,296.6 bn at the end of September). At a closer look, the decrease in assets under management of $103.5 bn for September 2026 was driven by the performance of the underlying markets (-$243.1 bn), while the estimated net inflows added another $139.6 bn to the increase of the assets under management.
From the perspective of the global ETF industry, the performance of the underlying markets led, in combination with the estimated net flows, to decreasing assets under management (from $22,968.4 bn as of August 31, 2026, to $22,830.7 bn at the end of September 2026). At a closer look, the decrease in assets under management of $137.7 bn for September was driven by the negative performance of the underlying markets (-$345.0 bn), while the estimated net inflows contributed (+$207.3 bn) to the assets under management.
Assets Under Management by Asset Type
As for the overall structure of the global ETF industry, it was not surprising equity ETFs ($17,737.8 bn) held the majority of assets at the end of September, followed by bond ETFs ($3,568.8 bn), alternatives ETFs ($772.1 bn), commodities ETFs ($471.7 bn), money market ETFs ($152.7 bn), mixed-assets ETFs ($108.1 bn), and “other” ETFs ($19.5 bn).
Graph 1: Market Share, Assets Under Management in the Global ETF Industry by Asset Type, September 30, 2026
Source: LSEG Lipper
Given the on average negative performance of the underlying securities markets over the course of September, it was surprising that the assets under management (AUM) for alternatives, mixed-assets, and money market ETFs hit a new (month end) all-time high at the end of September.
ETF Flows by Asset Type
The inflows in the global ETF industry (+$207.3 bn) for September were driven by equity ETFs (+$110.9 bn), followed by bond ETFs (+$68.6 bn), alternatives ETFs (+$13.6 bn), commodities ETFs (+$5.7 bn), mixed-assets ETFs (+$4.1 bn), money market ETFs (+$3.9 bn), and “other” ETFs (+$0.6 bn).
That said, it is noteworthy, that cumulative estimated flows in the global ETF industry over the course of the first nine month of 2026 have already surpassed the full year estimated net flows of 2025, which marked a new record for annual estimated net inflows (+$2,094.5 bn) at that point in time.
Graph 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset Type, September 1 – September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Given the volatile market environment, it was surprising to see that the estimated net inflows into ETFs for September were led by equity ETFs by such a wide margin. This might be seen as an indicator that ETF investors globally are in risk-on mode.
Assets Under Management by Lipper Global Classifications
In order to examine the global ETF industry in further detail, a review of the Lipper global classifications will lead to more insights on the structure and concentration of assets within the global ETF industry. At the end of September, the global ETF market was split into 312 different Lipper Global Classifications. The highest assets under management at the end of the month were held by ETFs classified as Equity U.S. ($8,076.0 bn), followed by Equity Global ex U.S. ($1,407.7 bn), Equity U.S. Small & Mid Cap ($1,169.9 bn), Equity Global ($1,091.8 bn), and Equity Japan ($945.5 bn). These five classifications accounted for 55.59% of the overall assets under management in the global ETF industry, while the 10 largest classifications by assets under management combined accounted for 69.87%.
Overall, 18 of the 312 Lipper classifications each accounted for more than 1% of assets under management. In total, these 18 classifications accounted for $18,313.3 bn, or 80.21%, of the overall assets under management.
Graph 3: Ten Largest Lipper Global Classifications by Assets Under Management, September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The Lipper classifications on the other side of the table showed some funds in the global 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.
Graph 4: Ten Smallest Lipper Global Classifications by Assets Under Management, September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
ETF Flows by Lipper Global Classifications
The net inflows of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications accounted for $127.9 bn. In line with the overall sales trend for September, equity peer groups (+$70.9 bn) gathered the majority of flows by asset type on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications by estimated net inflows for the month. That said, compared with the concentration of flows for the single regions or domiciles, the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications are somewhat more diversified at the global level. This flow pattern is expected, as investors from different regions may have different preferences when it comes to their investments. Nevertheless, the table of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications is heavily impacted by the estimated net flows from the U.S.
Given the overall fund flow trend in the global ETF industry and the dominance of the U.S. as the leading market for ETFs, it was not surprising that Equity Global ex U.S. (+$21.9 bn) was the best-selling Lipper global classification for the month, as it held this position also on the flow table for the U.S. ETF industry for September. It was followed by Equity U.S. (+$21.3 bn), Equity Global (+$21.3 bn), Bond USD Government Short Term (+$15.1 bn), and Bond USD Medium Term (+$10.4 bn).
Since money market is in general not considered a core asset type within the global ETF industry, it is not surprising that there were no money market classifications on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications for the global ETF industry.
More generally, these numbers showed the global ETF segment is somewhat concentrated when it comes to the estimated net flows by classification. Generally speaking, one would expect the flows into ETFs to be concentrated. Even as investors around the globe may have different preferences, the main trends are normally global investment trends and investors use ETFs to implement their strategic market views and short-term asset allocation decisions. These products are made and, therefore, are easy to use for these purposes.
Graph 5: Ten Best- and Worst-Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, September 1- September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
On the other side of the table, the 10 peer groups with the highest estimated net outflows for the month accounted for $16.9 bn in outflows. This number was above the outflows for the previous month (-$15.1 bn).
Alternative Equity Leveraged (-$4.0 bn) was once again the classification with the highest outflows for the month. It was bettered by Bond USD Corporates (-$2.9 bn), Equity Korea (-$2.2 bn), Bond SGD (-$1.5 bn), and Alternative Long/Short Equity Global (-$1.2 bn).
The names of the classifications on the list of the 10 Lipper classifications with the highest outflows for September 2026 show that ETF investors globally may have adjusted their portfolios according to their risk appetite.
Assets Under Management by Promoters
A closer look at assets under management by promoters in the global ETF industry also showed high concentration, with only 244 of the 871 ETF promoters covered in this report holding assets at or above $1.0 bn, totalling $22,708.8 bn at the end of September. The largest ETF promoter in the global ETF industry—iShares ($6,450.2 bn)—accounted for 28.25% of the overall assets under management, ahead of the number-two promoter—Vanguard ($5,118.3 bn)—and the number-three promoter—State Street SPDR ($2,321.7 bn).
Graph 6: The 10 Largest ETF Promoters by Assets Under Management, September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10-top promoters accounted for AUM of $17,721.2 bn, or 77.62%, of the overall assets under management in the global ETF industry. This meant, in turn, the other 861 ETF promoters which had registered at least one ETF for sale over the observation period accounted for only 22.38% of the overall assets under management. These numbers show that the assets under management at the promoter level in the global ETF industry are somewhat more diversified than in the single regions or domiciles.
It is not surprising that the global players are dominating the table of the 10-largest ETF promoters by assets under management. That said, it is somewhat surprising that there is only one ETF promoter from the Asia-Pacific region on this table. This might be caused by the high fragmentation of the ETF markets in the region, since most of the ETF promoters in the Asia-Pacific region act quite local.
ETF Flows by Promoters
Since the global ETF industry is highly concentrated when it comes to the assets under management by promoter, it was not surprising that seven of the 10 largest promoters by assets under management were among the 10-top selling ETF promoters for September. iShares was the best-selling ETF promoter in the global ETF industry for the month (+$64.7 bn), ahead of Vanguard (+$29.3 bn) and State Street SPDR (+$18.6 bn).
Graph 7: Ten Best-Selling ETF Promoters, September 1 – September 30, 2026 (USD Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The flows of the 10-top promoters accounted for estimated net inflows of $148.8 bn. As for the overall flow trend in September, it was clear that some of the 871 promoters (222) faced estimated net outflows (-$16.3 bn in total) over the course of the month.
Assets Under Management by Region
ETFs domiciled in North America ($17,038.2 bn) held the highest assets under management in the global ETF industry at the end of September. They were followed by ETFs domiciled in Europe ($3,690.9 bn), ETFs domiciled in the Indo-Pacific region ($2,045.0 bn), ETFs domiciled in South and Central America ($37.7 bn), ETFs domiciled in Africa ($16.7 bn), while other domiciles held ($1.4 bn) in assets under management.
Graph 8: Assets Under Management in the Global ETF Industry by Region – September 30, 2026 (in bn USD)
Source: LSEG Lipper
These numbers show that the global ETF industry is a truly global industry with a high concentration of assets under management in a few regions/domiciles.
Estimated Net Flows by Region
By reviewing the estimated flows in the global ETF industry by fund domicile and the respective regions, one needs to bear in mind that some domiciles have specific advantages or disadvantages when it comes to ETF distribution. The U.S. is, for example, a single market and can take profit from the size of the overall market, while in Europe every market is, or at least can be, an ETF domicile. This means that the local markets are much smaller.
That said, the member states of the European Union (EU) have established a fund regulation (Undertakings in Collective Investments and Transferable Securities, or UCITS) which enables the fund and ETF industry to cross-list all products which are registered for sale in one EU country into another EU country. Since UCITS has become such a well-recognized regulatory standard for mutual funds and ETFs, some countries in South and Central America, as well in Asia, allow UCITS funds to be cross-listed and sold to local investors. It is fair to say that there is no other regulatory framework available that allows funds to be distributed in various countries around the globe.
Other mutual recognition agreements, such as those between Hong Kong and China or Hong Kong and Taiwan, are only bilateral and have no global reach. This means that the estimated flows for European ETFs also include flows from South and Central America, as well as from Asia.
Graph 9: Estimated Net Flows in the Global ETF Industry by Region, September 1 – September 30, 2026 (in bn USD)
Source: LSEG Lipper
As one may expect from the assets under management, ETFs domiciled in North America (+$156.8 bn) enjoyed the highest estimated net inflows over the course of September. They were followed by ETFs domiciled in Europe (+$39.7 bn), the Indo-Pacific region (+$9.8 bn), South and Central America (+$0.8 bn), and Africa (+$0.1 bn), while the other regions (-$0.01 bn) faced shy outflows for the month.
Assets Under Management by Domicile
To investigate the concentration by region further, it makes sense to analyze the assets under management by domicile. As of the end of September, the U.S. was the largest single-country ETF domicile ($16,298.1 bn) of the 41 ETF domiciles covered in this report, followed by Ireland ($2,716.2 bn), Japan ($877.3 bn), Canada ($740.1 bn), and Luxembourg ($668.9 bn). These five ETF domiciles account for assets under management of $21,300.6 bn, or 93.30%, of the overall assets under management in the global ETF industry.
By looking at these numbers, one needs to bear in mind that China is excluded from this report, since there is no data on the assets under management from ETFs domiciled in China available at the time this report was written.
Graph 10: Ten Largest ETF Domiciles by Assets Under Management – September 30, 2026 (in bn USD)
Source: LSEG Lipper
These numbers show that assets under management in the global ETF industry are dominated by a small number of domiciles. Obviously, this concentration is at least partly caused by the time period over which ETFs are available in the single domiciles, as well the overall market size of these domiciles. That said, Ireland and Luxembourg are true global ETF hubs since ETFs registered under the UCITS regulation can be sold in various markets around the world.
Estimated Net Flows by Domicile
To add more detail to the estimated net flow numbers, it makes sense to shed light on the single domiciles. The U.S. (+$141.6 bn) was, as to be expected, the single fund domicile with the highest estimated net inflows for September. It was followed by Ireland (+$29.5 bn), Canada (+$15.3 bn), Luxembourg (+$7.2 bn), and Japan (+$5.1 bn).
Graph 11: The 10 ETF Domiciles with the Highest Estimated Net Inflows, September 1 – September 30, 2026 (in bn USD)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The list of the 10 best-selling domiciles does an even better job of showing that ETFs are truly a global phenomenon since it shows that investors around the globe are using ETFs to implement their asset allocation views in portfolios.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.
The views expressed are the views of the author, not necessarily those of Lipper or LSEG.
