Highlights
- Bonds led February inflows at €34.5bn, followed by Money Market (€24.7bn) and Mixed Assets (€16.1bn), while Equity saw redemptions (-€1.1bn)
- Flows focused on Money Market USD (€16.4bn), Equity Global (€14bn) and Equity Emerging Markets Global (€13.9bn), the latter also having been the most popular equity classification over 2025
- Weakest classifications were Target Maturity Bond EUR 2020+, Equity Sector IT, and Bond GBP Corporates, which all saw significant redemptions
- BlackRock led February promoter flows (€19.9bn), ahead of DWS (€11.7bn), with Goldman Sachs, State Street, and Schroders completing the top five
Executive summary
In February, the equity indices of Asia Pacific, Japan, FTSE 100, Eurozone, FTSE 250 and Emerging Markets outperformed the FTSE All-World, while Russell 2000 and Russell 1000. Over in fixed income markets, with inflation moderating in several key markets, US, UK, EM $ and Euro IG sectors outperformed their high-yield peers supported by lower government yields.
Asset class flows were led by bonds and money markets in February. Bonds were the best-selling asset class (€34.53bn), followed by MMF €24.67bn and Mixed Assets €16.08bn. Alternatives (€3.79bn) and commodities (€1.39bn) were also positive, while equities slipped into net redemptions at -€1.09bn overall, despite very strong ETF buying.
The month – again – saw heavy rotation from equity mutual funds into their ETF peers. Equity mutual funds suffered €40.45bn of redemptions, partly offset by €39.35bn into equity ETFs, leaving the asset class slightly negative overall. Real estate
(-€0.98bn) and “other” (-€0.01bn) were the only other asset classes in negative territory, making bonds/money markets the clear tops and equities/real estate the bottoms for the month.
At classification level, February buying was concentrated in liquidity and broad equity exposures. Money Market USD was the top-selling classification at €16.36bn, followed by Equity Global €14.03bn, Equity Emerging Markets Global €13.94bn, and Equity Europe €9.74bn. Bond Global USD also remained firmly in favour at €7.25bn, showing that investors were still allocating to both cash-like products and diversified risk assets.
The weakest LGC classifications in February were more niche or out-of-favour risk segments. The largest redemptions came from Target Maturity Bond EUR 2020+ (-€1.72bn), Equity Sector Information Technology (-€1.69bn), Bond GBP Corporates (-€1.43bn), Equity UK (-€1.32bn), and Bond USD High Yield (-€1.03bn). So the February LGC picture was a clear contrast between strong demand for money market/broad global exposures and continued selling in UK, tech, and selected fixed-income segments.
Among promoters, BlackRock was the standout winner in February, with DWS a clear second. BlackRock led promoter flows at €19.86bn, driven overwhelmingly by ETFs (€16.25bn), while DWS (€11.69bn) ranked second with a much more balanced MF/ETF mix. They were followed by Goldman Sachs (€6.76bn), State Street Investment (€6.27bn), and Schroders (€5.79bn). In short, the promoter leaderboard was dominated by the large ETF franchises, with BlackRock comfortably ahead of the field, in the same style as the promoter commentary in the reference document.
Asset Type Flows
Asset Type Flows February 2026
Chart 1: Estimated Net Flows by Asset and Product Type – February 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Total flows to mutual funds and ETFs for February were €78.37bn, down from January’s strong start to the year at €137.44bn. Mutual funds attracted €29.99bn, while ETFs gathered €48.38bn, once again underlining the resilience of exchange-traded demand even as underlying allocation patterns shifted materially.
Bonds were the best-selling asset class for the month (+€34.53bn: +€27.41bn MF/+€7.12bn ETF), followed by money market funds (+€24.67bn: +€23.37bn MF/+€1.30bn ETF) and mixed assets (+€16.08bn: +€15.99bn MF/+€0.09bn ETF). Alternatives (+€3.79bn: +€3.68bn MF/+€0.11bn ETF) and commodities (+€1.39bn: +€0.98bn MF/+€0.41bn ETF) also remained in positive territory, while other funds were broadly flat (-€0.01bn).
Equities were the clear outlier. At the aggregate level the asset class posted net redemptions of €1.09bn, but that headline masks an unusually sharp split between product structures, with mutual funds shedding €40.45bn while ETFs gathered €39.35bn. That’s a contrast to January, where both product types saw inflows, albeit with a pronounced bias to ETFs. However, the rotation from mutual fund to ETF is clearly an embedded longer-term secular trend.
Real estate funds also remained under pressure, with outflows of €0.98bn, all from mutual funds.
Asset Type Flows Year to Date
Chart 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset and Product Type, December 31, 2025 – February 28, 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Aggregate year-to-date flows stood at €169.39bn at the end of February (+€73.02bn MF/+€96.37bn ETF). The early leadership is firmly with money market funds (+€75.26bn: +€72.07bn MF/+€3.19bn ETF), followed by bonds (+€62.75bn: +€46.17bn MF/+€16.58bn ETF) and mixed assets (+€28.34bn: +€28.13bn MF/+€0.22bn ETF).
The picture is more mixed elsewhere. Alternatives added €5.77bn, commodity funds €1.57bn, and other funds were marginally positive at €0.05bn. Equities, however, remained slightly negative overall (-€2.47bn), as ETF demand of €76.74bn was more than offset by mutual fund outflows of €79.21bn.
On the negative side of the ledger, real estate funds continued to struggle, posting YTD redemptions of €1.89bn, again entirely from mutual funds. More broadly, the opening months of 2026 point to a market still favouring liquidity, income, and portfolio-balancing solutions over traditional long-only mutual fund equity exposure.
Fund Flows Active vs Passive Products
Chart 3: Total Net Assets by Product Type, €bn (LHS); Flows by Product Type, year to date, €bn (RHS)
Source: LSEG Lipper
By assets under management, actively managed mutual funds still dominate the European fund landscape (€13,535bn), compared with €2,781bn in ETFs and €2,214bn in index-tracking mutual funds.
On a year-to-date flow basis, actively managed mutual funds remained in positive territory at €148.51bn, ahead of ETFs at €96.37bn, while passive mutual funds saw redemptions of €75.49bn. That aggregate result is heavily influenced by money market funds, which are still overwhelmingly actively managed and have taken in €70.24bn YTD, versus €3.19bn for ETFs and €1.83bn for index mutual funds.
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, February 2026
Chart 4: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, February 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
February’s classification rankings were led by money market exposures, with Money Market USD taking top place (+€16.36bn: +€16.34bn MF/+€0.02bn ETF). Equity flows were nevertheless strong in certain classifications. Equity Global ranked second (+€14.03bn: +€6.04bn MF/+€7.99bn ETF), closely followed by Equity Emerging Markets Global (+€13.94bn: +€6.90bn MF/+€7.05bn ETF) and Equity Europe (+€9.74bn: +€5.50bn MF/+€4.24bn ETF).
While investors have backed away from the Equity US feeding frenzy that characterised 2024, the classification still netted €1.11bn ( -€0.89bn MF/+€ 2bn ETF). Interestingly, Equity US Small & Mid Cap , which suffered huge outflows globally last year, attracted €1.75bn, ahead of its large-cap sibling. Equity Global ex US took just under €1bn, suggesting that while investors have cooled on US equities, temperatures aren’t that chilly.
On the fixed income side, Bond Global USD gathered €7.25bn and Bond Emerging Markets Global LC a further €3.99bn, while Mixed Asset GBP Balanced – Global also saw robust inflows of €4.86bn. Taken together, the month’s leaders suggest investors were bar-belling liquidity and global risk assets rather than concentrating in a single market segment.
The weakest classifications, by contrast, were relatively modest in size compared with the leading inflows. Target Maturity Bond EUR 2020+ saw the largest redemptions (-€1.72bn), followed by Equity Sector Information Technology (-€1.69bn), Bond GBP Corporates (-€1.43bn), and Equity UK (-€1.32bn). This suggests that even where sentiment softened, selling was more selective than systemic.
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, Year to Date
Chart 5: Ten Best- and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, December 31, 2025 to February 28 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Year to date, money market strategies still occupy the top of the table. Money Market EUR is the leading classification (+€44.12bn: +€41.41bn MF/+€2.71bn ETF), followed by Money Market USD (+€27.39bn: +€26.96bn MF/+€0.44bn ETF). However, the gap to risk assets is not especially wide, with Equity Emerging Markets Global in third place (+€25.41bn), Equity Global next (+€22.77bn), and Equity Europe also posting very strong inflows (+€15.35bn).
This mix indicates that investors have continued to hold substantial cash balances while still re-engaging with equities through broad global, European, and emerging market exposures. Bond Global USD (+€11.07bn) and Bond Emerging Markets Global LC (+€9.28bn) also feature prominently, suggesting fixed income demand has remained global rather than narrowly domestic or duration-specific.
At the other end of the table, the weakest classifications have been more thematic or region-specific. Equity Sector Information Technology (-€2.84bn) and Equity UK (-€2.77bn) have seen the heaviest redemptions, followed by Target Maturity Bond EUR 2020+ (-€2.49bn) and Protected products (-€1.60bn). Overall, the YTD data point to broad-based buying in cash and diversified beta, while narrower sector and regional exposures have been less favoured.
Fund Flows by Promoter
Fund Flows by Promoter, February 2026
Chart 6: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, February 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10 best-selling fund groups in February accounted for €74.51bn of net inflows, equivalent to roughly 95.1% of total market flows over the month. BlackRock was again the dominant promoter (+€19.86bn: +€3.61bn MFs/+€16.25bn ETFs), underlining how heavily monthly demand remained concentrated in the ETF channel.
DWS ranked second (+€11.69bn: +€5.82bn MFs/+€5.87bn ETFs), with Goldman Sachs in third place (+€6.76bn), driven almost entirely by mutual funds. State Street Investment (+€6.27bn) and Schroders (+€5.79bn) completed the next tier, while PIMCO also had a notably strong month (+€5.70bn), almost exclusively through mutual funds.
Amundi remained among the leading promoters overall (+€5.37bn), though its result was unusually split between ETF inflows of €7.97bn and mutual fund redemptions of €2.60bn. That divergence again highlights the extent to which promoter league tables can mask very different underlying product dynamics.
Fund Flows by Promoter, Year to Date
Chart 7: Ten Best-Selling Fund Promoters in Europe, December 31, 2025 – February 28, 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Year-to-date flows for the top 10-selling promoters totalled €142.33bn, or about 84.0% of all net inflows recorded in the market through February. BlackRock retained a commanding lead (+€36.10bn: +€1.84bn MFs/+€34.26bn ETFs), reflecting its continued dominance of ETF distribution in Europe.
DWS ranked second (+€17.17bn), followed by Amundi (+€15.69bn), PIMCO (+€12.39bn), and JPMorgan (+€11.50bn). What stands out in the YTD table is the breadth of mutual fund participation beneath the ETF giants: PIMCO, JPMorgan, HSBC, Northern Trust, and Schroders all derived the overwhelming majority of their inflows from mutual funds.
At the same time, promoters such as BlackRock, Amundi, Vanguard, and UBS Asset Management continued to show the strongest ETF contribution. The overall pattern therefore remains consistent with the broader market data: ETF flows are highly concentrated among a small number of large providers, while mutual fund demand is more dispersed but still materially supportive in cash, fixed income, and selected allocation strategies.
