Investment Company InstituteIndustry body

Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2025

The Investment Company Institute's March 2026 fee study finds index equity ETFs kept an asset-weighted average expense ratio of 0.14% in 2025.

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FlowsBonds· 19 pages · PDF

What it says

Figures as stated by Investment Company Institute, Mar 24, 2026
  • The Investment Company Institute says index bond ETFs cut their average expense ratio to 0.09% in 2025, a decline of 1 basis point.ICI, p. 1
  • The Investment Company Institute finds equity mutual funds averaged 0.40% in 2025, after a 62% drop in their average expense ratio since 1996.ICI, p. 1
  • The Investment Company Institute reports index mutual funds and index ETFs held 52% of long-term fund assets at year-end 2025, up from 19% in 2010.ICI, p. 5
  • The Investment Company Institute notes the simple average fee for index equity ETFs was 0.45%, compared with the 0.14% asset-weighted figure, since cheaper ETFs tend to be larger.ICI, p. 4
  • The Investment Company Institute says money market fund fees rose to 0.24% in 2025 as sponsors kept pulling back expense waivers.ICI, p. 1

The ETFIQ take

ETFIQ data to Oct 20, 2026 · the 746 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figure, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026

Investment Company Institute reports an asset-weighted average expense ratio of 0.14% for index equity ETFs in 2025, unchanged from the year before. 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.

+$127.9bnnet flow, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, summed over the 746 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figureOct 20, 2026 · ETFIQ →+$461.8bnnet flow, Jan 2, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, summed over the 713 of 4,807 ETFs ETFIQ covers with a daily figureOct 20, 2026 · ETFIQ →+$90.1bnnet flow into stock ETFs, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, over the 322 of 1,739 with a daily figureOct 20, 2026 · ETFIQ →+$35.7bnnet flow into bond ETFs, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, over the 204 of 833 with a daily figureOct 20, 2026 · ETFIQ →
Paper: US mutual funds and ETFs, expense ratios through 2025. 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’s 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.MethodData

Related ETFs

The largest ETFs ETFIQ covers, by net assets
VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF+16.5%IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETF+16.5%SPYSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust+16.4%VTIVanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF+15.9%QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1+19.2%VUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF+11.2%

Figure: total return, 1 year, to Oct 21, 2026, from each fund’s page. All 4,807 ETFs in the screener →

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Questions people ask

What does the Investment Company Institute paper conclude?

The Investment Company Institute's March 2026 fee study finds index equity ETFs kept an asset-weighted average expense ratio of 0.14% in 2025. The paper’s own words are at the link above.

What does ETFIQ’s 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’s 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. More on this →

Where can I read “Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2025”?

On Investment Company Institute’s own site. ETFIQ summarizes the paper and does not host it. Investment Company Institute’s page ↗
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2025 (Investment Company Institute), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-trends-in-the-expenses-and-fees-of-funds-2025/

Open data →

Summary by ETFIQ. ETFIQ is not affiliated with Investment Company Institute; logos identify the source.