ETFs Are Exploding Worldwide — Now Managing Over $19 Trillion
The global ETF industry is led by iShares, with $5.40 trillion in assets (a 28% market share). It is followed by Vanguard, with $4.13T.
Quick overview
- Global ETF assets reached a record high of $19.25 trillion at the end of October, with net inflows of $279.04 billion for the month.
- Year-to-date net inflows for 2025 have reached an unprecedented $1.82 trillion, surpassing previous records from 2024 and 2021.
- The ETF market is dominated by iShares, Vanguard, and State Street, which together hold nearly 60% of total ETF assets.
- The ongoing growth in ETFs is driven by strong performances in major indices and emerging markets.
Global investors continue to pour money into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which last month once again broke records for assets under management and net inflows.
Worldwide ETF assets reached a new all-time high of $19.25 trillion at the end of October, after recording $279.04 billion in global net inflows, bringing year-to-date inflows to a record $1.82 trillion, according to the latest report from London-based ETF consultancy ETFGI. Last month’s inflows also marked the 77th consecutive month of positive net flows.
This means the global ETF industry remains highly dynamic and in step with the broader market, surpassing its previous record set in September of $18.81 trillion.
ETFs — or Exchange-Traded Funds — are investment vehicles traded on stock exchanges like individual shares. They offer diversified exposure through a basket of assets such as equities, bonds, or commodities (like gold). Their primary goal is to replicate the performance of a specific index (such as the S&P 500), allowing investors to track it simply and at lower cost. Unlike traditional mutual funds, ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, with prices fluctuating according to supply and demand.
According to ETFGI data, ETF assets have grown 29.7% so far this year, rising from $14.85 trillion at the end of 2024 to $19.25 trillion last month.
Year-to-date net inflows of $1.82 trillion (January–October 2025) are the highest ever recorded, surpassing 2024’s $1.45 trillion and the $1.04 trillion logged in 2021.
What’s driving the global ETF boom?
For one, the S&P 500 gained 2.34%, bringing its year-to-date increase to 17.52%. Developed markets excluding the U.S. rose 1.69% and are up 29.83% so far in 2025, led by Korea (+18.88%) and Luxembourg (+6.71%). Emerging markets climbed 1.71% in October and are up 24.5% year-to-date, supported by strong performances in Taiwan (+8.60%) and Hungary (+8.41%), according to ETFGI founder Deborah Fuhr.
The global ETF landscape shows that, as of the end of last month, there were 15,347 products, with 30,007 listings, $19.25 trillion in assets, offered by 928 providers across 83 exchanges in 65 countries.
Who dominates the market?
The global ETF industry is still led by iShares, with $5.40 trillion in assets (a 28% market share). It is followed by Vanguard, with $4.13 trillion and a 21.4% share, and in third place State Street’s SPDR ETFs, with $1.95 trillion and a 10.1% share. Together, these three giants — just 3 out of 928 global providers — account for 59.6% of all ETF assets worldwide, while the remaining 925 providers share less than 6% of the global market.
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