{"url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/","section":"research","title":"Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026 | ETFIQ","description":"Investment Company Institute\u2019s paper \u201cRelease: Active and Index Investing, August 2026\u201d, summarized by ETFIQ with its own data beside it.","as_of":"Oct 21, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Report","name":"Summary: Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026","headline":"Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026","url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/","datePublished":"2026-10-21","dateModified":"2026-10-21","author":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"about":"Fund flows","abstract":"The Investment Company Institute's September 2026 release shows index mutual funds and ETFs at $22.40 trillion in August, ahead of $18.87 trillion in active funds.","isBasedOn":"https://www.ici.org/research/stats/combined_active_index","citation":{"@type":"ScholarlyArticle","name":"Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026","url":"https://www.ici.org/research/stats/combined_active_index","datePublished":"2026-09-30","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Investment Company Institute","url":"https://www.ici.org/"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Investment Company Institute"}},"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does the Investment Company Institute paper conclude?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Investment Company Institute's September 2026 release shows index mutual funds and ETFs at $22.40 trillion in August, ahead of $18.87 trillion in active funds. The paper\u2019s own words are at the link above."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What does ETFIQ\u2019s data show on the same question?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"From Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, the ETFs ETFIQ can count had a net flow of +$127.9bn, with +$90.1bn for stock ETFs and +$35.7bn for bond ETFs. ETFIQ states both figures and does not reconcile them."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is an ETF\u2019s net flow?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The change in its shares outstanding times its net asset value, summed over the days of a window: money in less money out."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Where can I read \u201cRelease: Active and Index Investing, August 2026\u201d?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"On Investment Company Institute\u2019s own site. ETFIQ summarizes the paper and does not host it."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Library","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Investment Company Institute","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Release: Active and Index Investing, A...","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026","description":"Investment Company Institute\u2019s paper \u201cRelease: Active and Index Investing, August 2026\u201d, summarized by ETFIQ with its own data beside it.","url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/","dateModified":"2026-10-21","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":5037,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Research / Library / Investment Company Institute / Release: Active and Index Investing, A... \n \n Published Sep 30, 2026 by Investment Company Institute. Summary by ETFIQ as of Oct 21, 2026.\n Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026\n The Investment Company Institute's September 2026 release shows index mutual funds and ETFs at $22.40 trillion in August, ahead of $18.87 trillion in active funds. \n Investment Company Institute \u00b7 Industry body \u00b7 Read the full paper at Investment Company Institute \u2197 \n What it says\n Figures as stated by Investment Company Institute, Sep 30, 2026\n Index mutual funds and ETFs took in a net $82.54 billion in August while active long-term funds lost $17.05 billion, per the Investment Company Institute. (ICI)\n Investment Company Institute data show active fund assets up 1.5% in August to $18.87 trillion, against a 2.9% gain for index assets. (ICI)\n Active funds focused on US stocks saw $34.45 billion leave in August, while index funds of the same type gained $20.41 billion, per the Investment Company Institute. (ICI)\n Bond funds drew inflows on both sides in August, $31.62 billion for active and $45.55 billion for index, the Investment Company Institute says. (ICI)\n The ETFIQ take\n ETFIQ data to Oct 20, 2026 \u00b7 the 746 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figure, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026\n Investment Company Institute reports index mutual fund and ETF assets of $22.40 trillion in August, against $18.87 trillion for active. From Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, the ETFs ETFIQ can count had a net flow of +$127.9bn, with +$90.1bn for stock ETFs and +$35.7bn for bond ETFs.\n +$127.9bn net flow, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, summed over the 746 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figure , Oct 20, 2026. ETFIQ \n +$461.8bn net flow, Jan 2, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, summed over the 713 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figure , Oct 20, 2026. ETFIQ \n +$90.1bn net flow into stock ETFs, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, over the 322 of 1,739 with a daily figure , Oct 20, 2026. ETFIQ \n +$35.7bn net flow into bond ETFs, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, over the 204 of 833 with a daily figure , Oct 20, 2026. ETFIQ \n\n Paper: Active and index US long-term funds and ETFs, August 2026. ETFIQ: the 746 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figure, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026. Net flow is the change in shares outstanding times the day\u2019s NAV, summed over the days in the window, for the funds with a daily figure. The two sets and windows differ; the figures are stated, not reconciled. Method Data \n\n Related ETFs\n The largest ETFs ETFIQ covers, by net assets\n VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF: +16.5%\n IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF: +16.5%\n SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: +16.4%\n VTI Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF: +15.9%\n QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1: +19.2%\n VUG Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF: +11.2%\n Figure: total return, 1 year, to Oct 21, 2026, from each fund\u2019s page. All 4,807 ETFs in the screener \u2192 \n Related papers\n J.P. Morgan Asset Management \u00b7 Issuer \u00b7 Oct 15, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ take\n Guide to ETFs \n J.P. Morgan Asset Management's October 2026 Guide to ETFs counts 5,677 U.S. ETFs holding $16.3 Tn, with data through September 30, 2026.\n Flows Bonds Read the paper \u2197 \n First Trust \u00b7 Issuer \u00b7 Oct 7, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ take\n ETF Data Watch \n First Trust's October 2026 flows monitor shows US-listed ETFs took in $139.9 billion of net inflows in September, lifting total assets to $15.9 trillion.\n Flows Bonds Income Read the paper \u2197 \n First Trust \u00b7 Issuer \u00b7 Sep 8, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ take\n ETF Data Watch Flier - September 2026 \n First Trust's September 2026 flows monitor counts $179.6 billion of net new money into US-listed ETFs during August, lifting their assets to $16.1 trillion.\n Flows Bonds Income Read the paper \u2197 \n All 16 papers on flows \u2192 \n Questions people ask\n What does the Investment Company Institute paper conclude? The Investment Company Institute's September 2026 release shows index mutual funds and ETFs at $22.40 trillion in August, ahead of $18.87 trillion in active funds. The paper\u2019s own words are at the link above. What does ETFIQ\u2019s data show on the same question? From Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, the ETFs ETFIQ can count had a net flow of +$127.9bn, with +$90.1bn for stock ETFs and +$35.7bn for bond ETFs. ETFIQ states both figures and does not reconcile them. What is an ETF\u2019s net flow? The change in its shares outstanding times its net asset value, summed over the days of a window: money in less money out. Where can I read \u201cRelease: Active and Index Investing, August 2026\u201d? On Investment Company Institute\u2019s own site. ETFIQ summarizes the paper and does not host it. ETFIQ, Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026 (Investment Company Institute), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/ Free to use with attribution . Open data \n Summary by ETFIQ. ETFIQ is not affiliated with Investment Company Institute; logos identify the source.","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, Release: Active and Index Investing, August 2026 (Investment Company Institute), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-release-active-and-index-investing-august-2026/"}