The Big Picture
For the shortened four-day trading period ending Thursday, September 4th, 2025, ETF investors allocated a net total of $21.3 billion into the market. The majority of these flows were directed toward Equities, which collected $10.4 billion, and Fixed Income, which attracted $7.2 billion. Commodities also saw inflows of $2.6 billion, while Digital Assets experienced a minor net redemption of $151 million for the week.
Asset Class Trends
The table below provides a detailed breakdown of ETF flows across the major asset classes for the week and various trailing periods.
| Asset Class | AUM | WTD | 1M | 3M | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | $9,355.0B | $10,385M | $70,002M | $192,893M | $416,103M |
| Fixed Income | $2,100.2B | $7,249M | $47,488M | $108,652M | $266,679M |
| Commodity | $244.5B | $2,581M | $14,844M | $7,065M | $30,950M |
| Digital Asset | $173.6B | ($151M) | $20,944M | $5,448M | $31,184M |
| Non-Traditional | $368.6B | $1,201M | $12,413M | $3,004M | $49,906M |
| Alternative | $9.4B | $70M | $937M | $2,035M | $3,356M |
| Multi-Asset | $26.5B | $6M | $1,917M | $838M | $3,404M |
| Currency | $2.3B | ($10M) | ($119M) | ($487M) | $533M |
Category Highlights
Money flowed into a diverse set of categories this week, with U.S. Large Cap Blend and Precious Metals leading the pack. Conversely, U.S. Large Cap Growth funds saw significant redemptions. The tables below show the top five categories for inflows and outflows for the week.
Top 5 Category Inflows
| Category | AUM | Weekly Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Blend | $3,679.5B | $7,309M |
| Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals | $224.9B | $2,694M |
| Equity: Global Ex-U.S. Large Cap – Blend | $837.0B | $2,433M |
| Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Value | $839.2B | $1,833M |
| Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Ultrashort | $181.7B | $1,677M |
Top 5 Category Outflows
| Category | AUM | Weekly Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Equity: U.S. Large Cap Growth | $1,132.6B | ($4,245M) |
| Equity: U.S. Small Cap – Blend | $308.2B | ($699M) |
| Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Short | $66.0B | ($592M) |
| Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Ethereum | $27.9B | ($507M) |
| Equity: Sector – Industrial | $59.0B | ($443M) |
Weekly Flow Highlights
This week, flows into more granular categories revealed specific trends beyond the headline numbers. The Financials sector led all sectors with over half a billion in new assets. Health Care funds saw a notable reversal, attracting capital after a period of sustained outflows. Mid-Cap Growth also stood out, with inflows representing a meaningful portion of the category’s total assets.
| Highlight Category | Weekly Flow | 1-Month Flow | AUM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity: Sector – Financials | $504M | $1,995M | $102.1B |
| Equity: Sector – Health Care | $371M | ($81M) | $80.2B |
| Equity: U.S. Mid Cap – Growth | $496M | $594M | $58.5B |
| Equity: Sector – Energy | ($255M) | ($1,009M) | $44.9B |
| Equity: Thematic – Evolving Consumer | ($162M) | $1,225M | $18.3B |
- Financials Sector Leads: Financials were the top-performing sector, attracting $504 million in new assets, continuing a positive trend from the prior month.
- Reversal in Health Care: Health Care ETFs saw a significant reversal, with a $371 million inflow this week. This marks a shift from the net redemptions the category experienced over the last month.
- Concentrated Move into Mid-Cap Growth: Investors showed strong interest in U.S. Mid-Cap Growth, directing $496 million into the category, a notable amount given its smaller $58.5 billion AUM.
- Continued Outflows from Energy: The Energy sector saw another week of redemptions, with $255 million exiting funds. This extends a pattern of outflows seen over the past month.
- Shift in Thematic Preference: In a reversal from the prior month, Evolving Consumer thematic ETFs experienced the largest outflows in the thematic space, with investors pulling $162 million.
This Week’s Highlight: The Divergence in U.S. Size & Style Flows
A look at the 90-day rolling flows for U.S. Size and Style categories reveals a significant divergence in investor allocations. U.S. Large-Cap funds, particularly Blend, continued to show strong and consistent inflows over the past quarter. In stark contrast, U.S. Small-Cap categories experienced accelerating outflows during the same period, with Small-Cap Blend funds seeing the most pronounced redemptions. This trend highlights a distinct investor preference for larger companies over the last 90 days.
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A Note on ETF Flows:
While ETF flows are a valuable indicator of market sentiment, it’s important to recognize they don’t always tell the whole story. Large flows can sometimes be driven by technical, non-sentimental factors. These may include institutional activity like using custom create/redeem baskets for tax management purposes, or ‘create-to-lend’ transactions where new shares are created to facilitate short selling. While we strive to add context where possible, these underlying mechanics can influence the data.
Disclosures:
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
