# Why ETF growth is booming

> State Street Investment Management's July 2026 explainer, citing Morningstar, counts more than 14,000 ETFs worldwide holding $18.49 trillion.

Data as of Oct 21, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

Published Jul 16, 2026 by State Street Investment Management. Summary by ETFIQ as of Oct 21, 2026.

## Why ETF growth is booming

State Street Investment Management's July 2026 explainer, citing Morningstar, counts more than 14,000 ETFs worldwide holding $18.49 trillion.

State Street Investment Management · Issuer · Read the full paper at State Street Investment Management ↗

### What it says

Figures as stated by State Street Investment Management, Jul 16, 2026

- State Street Investment Management, citing Morningstar, says ETFs drew a record $2 trillion of global inflows in 2025. (State Street)

- State Street Investment Management, citing Morningstar, reports $641 billion of ETF inflows in the first quarter of 2026, despite high volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. (State Street)

- State Street Investment Management puts median expense ratios at 0.58% for US-listed ETFs and 0.90% for US-listed mutual funds, citing Morningstar data as of March 31, 2026. (State Street)

- State Street Investment Management, citing Morningstar, says total ETF assets have grown 19% a year on average since 2008. (State Street)

- State Street Investment Management says its new 2035 forecast runs nearly 18% ahead of the 10-year projection it made a year earlier. (State Street)

### 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

State Street Investment Management reports Morningstar's count of more than 14,000 ETFs worldwide holding $18.49 trillion as of March 31, 2026. 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: Global ETF market, as of March 31, 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’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 funds the paper names that ETFIQ covers

- SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: +16.4%

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

### Related papers

Investment Company Institute · Industry body · Oct 20, 2026 · ETFIQ take

#### Release: Estimated ETF Net Issuance

In an October 2026 release, the Investment Company Institute estimated net ETF issuance of $53.26 billion for the week to October 14, 2026.

Flows Bonds Read the paper ↗

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 ↗

All 16 papers on flows →

### Questions people ask

What does the State Street Investment Management paper conclude? State Street Investment Management's July 2026 explainer, citing Morningstar, counts more than 14,000 ETFs worldwide holding $18.49 trillion. 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 “Why ETF growth is booming”? On State Street Investment Management’s own site. ETFIQ summarizes the paper and does not host it.

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, Why ETF growth is booming (State Street Investment Management), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/state-street-why-etf-growth-is-booming/
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