February 2026 was another month with very strong inflows for the European ETF industry.
The very strong inflows over the course of February hide the fact that global securities markets were defined by a complex interplay of geopolitical tensions, fading inflation progress, and cautious centralbank signalling. Equity and bond performance varied sharply across regions, with Europe and Asia providing relative resilience while U.S. mega cap technology companies dragged major American indices lower. Investor appetite oscillated between risk‑seeking and defensive positioning as oil prices climbed and central banks adopted a more data‑dependent tone.
Geopolitical risk rose meaningfully as U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran at month‑end pushed crude oil higher and lifted safe‑haven demand across metals and government bonds. Brent prices gained momentum as investors baked in higher risk premia linked to the escalating conflict. Yet through most of February, markets initially showed surprising resilience: the European Central Bank (ECB) noted that investor risk appetite remained near post‑2008 highs despite elevated geopolitical uncertainty and renewed tariff threats from the U.S.
Still, by the final week of February, caution increased. European and Japanese equities held firm, but U.S. technology stocks weakened materially under the twin pressures of AI‑related volatility and geopolitical risk spillovers. Bond yields fell globally as investors sought safety, supporting rate‑sensitive sectors such as real estate and small‑cap equities.
For U.S. markets, February reinforced a narrative of softening growth, labormarket cracks, and inflation that is cooling too slowly for the Federal Reserve’s comfort. The Fed had already shifted into a wait‑and‑see stance after three late‑2025 cuts.
As a result, U.S. equities lagged global peers, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipping as mega-cap technology companies faced valuation pressure and investor concern over AI‑related capex payoffs. Conversely, European equities outperformed in February, supported by steady domestic demand, narrowing sovereign spreads and strong sector rotation.
The ECB kept all key rates unchanged at 2% in February and reiterated a cautious, data‑dependent, meeting‑by‑meeting approach. Inflation was judged broadly on track to settle near the 2% target over the medium term, while the euro’s modest appreciation was seen as largely driven by U.S. dollar weakness. Policymakers stressed elevated uncertainty linked to trade policy and geopolitical risks but maintained confidence in the euro area’s resilience thanks to low unemployment, healthy corporate balance sheets, and ongoing public investment programs.
In the UK, the Bank of England (BoE) held the Bank Rate at 3.75% in a tight 5–4 vote, signalling that while inflation was expected to return to target around April, the timing of future cuts would depend on data as wage pressures and services inflation continued easing but remained elevated. Sterling weakened notably as markets interpreted the narrow vote as a dovish shift and priced in higher odds of mid‑year easing.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was surging over the month, as domestic demand, improving corporate governance, and resilient wage dynamics underpinned confidence. Long‑term yields remained influenced by policy implementation signals from the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) operational communications. Upcoming discussions on JGB purchases and liquidity management were closely watched as potential precursors to further policy normalization, even without explicit rate changes.
In sum, February 2026 delivered a fragmented global picture: geopolitical flashpoints lifted commodities and safe‑haven assets, central banks leaned into caution, and regional equity performance diverged sharply. Europe and Japan benefitted from relative macro stability, while U.S. markets wrestled with sticky inflation, labor‑market stress, and sector‑specific volatility. Investor sentiment ended the month more defensive but not yet risk‑averse, setting the stage for a volatile spring. This might be a subject of change depending how long and hard the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East will hit the economies around the globe.
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 €2,674.6 bn as of January 31, 2026, to €2,780.8 bn at the end of February). At a closer look, the increase in assets under management of €106.2 bn for February was driven by the performance of the underlying markets (+€57.8 bn), while estimated net inflows added (+€48.4 bn) to the increase in assets under management.
Assets Under Management in the European ETF Industry
As for the overall structure of the European ETF industry, it was not surprising equity ETFs (€2,136.8 bn) held the majority of assets, followed by bond ETFs (€516.4 bn), commodities ETFs (€67.8 bn), money market ETFs (€45.4 bn), alternatives ETFs (€9.2 bn), and mixed-assets ETFs (€5.2 bn).
Given the volatile but positive market environment over the course of the year, it is no surprise that the overall assets under management in the European ETF industry (€2,780.8 bn) hit a new (month end) all-time high at the end of February. When it comes to this, it is noteworthy that the assets under management for all asset types, with the exception of alternatives and money market, reached also a new (month end) all-time high at the end of February.
Graph 1: Market Share, Assets Under Management in the European ETF Segment by Asset Type, February 28, 2026
Source: LSEG Lipper
ETF Flows by Asset Type
The inflows into the European ETF industry over February (+€48.4 bn) are further above €40.0 bn on a monthly basis. 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 showcases that the popularity of ETFs among European investors is still growing despite the generally higher inflows over the course of the years 2024 and 2025.
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).
Graph 2: Estimated Net Sales by Asset Type, February 1 – February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Given the general market environment, it was somewhat surprising to see estimated net inflows into ETFs on this high level led by equity ETFs over the course of the month.
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 February, the European ETF market was split into 185 different peer groups. The highest assets under management at the end of February were held by ETFs classified as Equity U.S. (€623.0 bn), followed by Equity Global (€511.2 bn), Equity Europe (€239.5 bn), Equity Emerging Markets Global (€155.6 bn), and Bond EUR Corporates (€61.2 bn). These five peer groups accounted for €1,590.9 bn, or 57.21%, of the overall assets under management in the European ETF segment, while the 10-top classifications by assets under management accounted for 66.46%.
Overall, 18 of the 185 Lipper classifications each accounted for more than 1% of assets under management. In total, these 18 classifications accounted for €2,119.7 bn, or 76.23%, of the overall assets under management.
Graph 3: Ten Largest Lipper Global Classifications by Assets Under Management, February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
In addition, it was noteworthy that Bond EUR Corporates has moved up on the list of the five largest Lipper classifications in January, while Equity Sector Information Technology fell from the fifth to the sixth spot. This may be a sign of a change in risk appetite of European investors. Since Equity Sector Information Technology fell even further over the course of February, this might be a space to watch in the future, even as the loss of sixth position was not caused by estimated net outflows.
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, February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
ETF Flows by Lipper Global Classifications
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 peer groups (+€27.9 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 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).
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 overall market trend of increasing flows into ETFs investing in Europe 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.
The general trend toward investing in money market products continued over the course of the month. Nevertheless, money market is in general not a core asset type within the European ETF industry. 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 5: 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).
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 33 of the 73 ETF promoters in Europe holding assets at or above €1.0 bn, accounting for €2,771.6 bn. The largest ETF promoter in Europe—iShares (€1,151.1 bn)—accounted for 41.39% of the overall assets under management. This number is far ahead of the number-two promoter—Amundi ETF (€360.1 bn)—and the number-three promoter—Xtrackers (€290.8 bn). (To earn 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, February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The 10-top promoters accounted for (€2,560.4 bn) 92.08% of the overall assets under management in the European ETF industry. This meant, in turn, the other 63 fund promoters registering at least one ETF for sale in Europe accounted for only 7.92% 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 seven 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 February (+€16.3 bn), ahead of Amundi ETF (+€8.0 bn) and Xtrackers (+€5.9 bn).
Graph 7: Ten Best-Selling ETF Promoters, February 1 – February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The flows of the 10-top promoters accounted for estimated net inflows of €44.7 bn. As for the overall flow trend for February, it was clear that some of the 73 promoters (12) faced estimated net outflows (-€1.1 bn in total) over the course of the month.
Assets Under Management by ETFs
There were 4,724 instruments (primary share classes [2,345] and convenience share classes [2,379]) listed as ETFs in the Lipper database at the end of February. Regarding the overall market pattern, it was not surprising assets under management at the ETF level were also highly concentrated. Only 531 of the 2,345 ETFs (primary share classes = portfolios) held assets above €1.0 bn each. These ETFs accounted for €2,387.0 bn, or 85.84%, of the overall assets in the European ETF industry. The 10 largest ETFs in Europe accounted for €527.3 bn, or 18.96%, of the overall assets under management.
Graph 8: The 10 Largest ETFs by Assets Under Management, February 28, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Estimated Net Flows at the ETF Level
A total of 1,373 of the 2,345 ETFs (primary share classes = portfolios) analyzed in this report showed net inflows of more than €10,000 each for February, accounting for inflows of €69.2 bn. This meant the other 972 instruments faced no flows, or net outflows, for the month. Upon closer inspection, only 177 of the 1,373 ETFs posting net inflows enjoyed inflows of more than €100 m over the course of February—for a total of €47.9 bn. The best-selling ETF for February Xtrackers S&P 500 Equal Weight UCITS ETF, which enjoyed estimated net inflows of €1.7 bn. It was followed by Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (+€1.6 bn) and iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS ETF (+€1.5 bn).
Graph 9: The 10 Best-Selling ETFs, February 1 – February 28, 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 €9.8 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 February were issued by iShares. These iShares ETFs accounted for estimated net inflows of €3.6 bn.
