# 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. Data as of Oct 21, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night. Published Mar 24, 2026 by Investment Company Institute. Summary by ETFIQ as of Oct 21, 2026. ## 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. Investment Company Institute · Industry body · Read the full paper at Investment Company Institute ↗ ### 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. +$127.9bn 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 +$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 +$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 +$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 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. Method Data ### Related ETFs The largest ETFs ETFIQ covers, by net assets - VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF: +16.5% - IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF: +16.5% - SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: +16.4% - VTI Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF: +15.9% - QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1: +19.2% - VUG Vanguard 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 → ### Related papers J.P. Morgan Asset Management · Issuer · Oct 15, 2026 · ETFIQ take #### Guide to ETFs 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. Flows Bonds Read the paper ↗ First Trust · Issuer · Oct 7, 2026 · ETFIQ take #### ETF Data Watch 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. Flows Bonds Income Read the paper ↗ First Trust · Issuer · Sep 8, 2026 · ETFIQ take #### ETF Data Watch Flier - September 2026 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. Flows Bonds Income Read the paper ↗ All 16 papers on flows → ### 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. 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. --- Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices. Cite: 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/ Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms. HTML: https://etfiq.com/research/library/ici-trends-in-the-expenses-and-fees-of-funds-2025/