- Europe-domiciled ETFs attracted $26.6 billion of assets in March, continuing the trend of strong inflows.
- Equity ETFs collected $25.1 billion in new assets, while fixed income exposures had $1.4 billion of net inflows.
- The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $2.9 billion in March, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows.
Monthly recap: Overall equity ETF inflows continue while US equity ETF outflows accelerate
Europe-domiciled ETFs posted net inflows of $26.6 billion in March, bringing the Q1 2025 total to $91.8 billion. Yet again, equity ETFs were the main driver of flows, gathering $25.1 billion in March and $75.4 billion across Q1. Bond ETFs added $1.4 billion in March (and $15.1 billion in Q1) as investors again favoured ultra-short maturity exposures.
In terms of themes, we saw an acceleration of the rotation out of US equity ETFs and into Europe equity ETFs. US equity ETFs weathered net outflows of -$1.3 billion in March, following outflows of -$519 million in February. The negative flows marked a sharp turn in investor sentiment toward US equity ETFs, which had seen $10.5 billion of net inflows in January. Europe equity ETFs, on the other hand, posted net inflows of $8.8 billion in March – a notable increase from inflows of $1.5 billion and $4.1 billion in January and February, respectively. Beyond this rotation, we saw continued appetite for developed market and global equity ETFs.
These ETF flow trends emerged amid an uncertaint policy environment. On the trade policy front, we have since seen important developments out of the US.
Commodity and multi-asset ETFs enjoyed net inflows in March while alternative ETF exposures saw net outflows.
Total ETF market flows
Equity ETFs drive flows in the first quarter
European ETF cumulative flows – cumulative 12 months by asset class ($ billion)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025.
Equity ETFs
Core equity ETFs again capture majority of flows
Equity flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025. The ‘segment’ category includes equity exposures which target specific market capitalisation segments, such as small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap. The ‘market access’ category includes difficult-to-access markets such as emerging markets. The ‘basket’ category includes strategies that combine several stocks as the underlying exposure, such as FAANG stocks.
Core equity ETFs continued attracting net inflows, adding a further $14.9 billion in March. In a distant second place, smart beta ETFs saw $2.6 billion of net inflows while thematic and sector ETFs each captured $2.3 billion of flows. For a third straight month, we saw no meaningful net outflows among the equity categories we track.
Investors favour Europe equity ETFs as US outflows accelerate
Equity flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025. The ‘world’ category excludes emerging markets.
Europe equity ETFs gathered $8.8 billion of net inflows in March while developed market and global ETF exposures added $4.4 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively. US equity ETFs, meanwhile, weathered a second month of net outflows, losing -$1.3 billion in March (following outflows of -$519 million in February).
Fixed income ETFs
Appetite for ultra-short maturity bond ETFs persists
Fixed income flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025.
Ultra-short maturity bond ETFs took in $3.2 billion of net inflows in March, capping three months of positive flows to start the year (which follows net inflows each month of 2024). On the negative side of the ledger, corporate bond ETFs weathered net outflows of -$1.0 billion last month while high yield bond ETFs had net outflows of -$590 million.
Investors favour euro area bond ETFs
Fixed income flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025.
Euro area bond ETFs had the highest net inflows in March, collecting $1.4 billion and marking three months of positive flows to start the year. China and US bond ETF exposures, on the other hand, endured net outflows of -$431 million and -$384 million, respectively.
Vanguard UCITS ETFs
Vanguard range sees net inflows of $2.9 billion in March
Vanguard UCITS ETF net flows: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2025.
The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $2.9 billion in March, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows. Inflows were split between Vanguard’s equity UCITS ETF range ($2.2 billion) and fixed income UCITS ETF range ($686 million), while the multi-asset UCITS ETF range saw net inflows of $32 million.
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