{"url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/","section":"research","title":"Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs | ETFIQ","description":"Vanguard\u2019s paper \u201cJeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs\u201d, summarized by ETFIQ with its own data beside it. Summary by ETFIQ.","as_of":"Oct 21, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Report","name":"Summary: Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs","headline":"Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs","url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/","datePublished":"2026-10-21","dateModified":"2026-10-21","author":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"about":"Bond ETFs","abstract":"In an April 2026 podcast summary, Vanguard, citing Morningstar, says fixed income drew approximately $600 billion of flows in 2025, roughly 70% of it into ETFs.","isBasedOn":"https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/articles/jeff-johnson-on-rise-active-fixed-income-etfs.html","citation":{"@type":"Report","name":"Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs","url":"https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/articles/jeff-johnson-on-rise-active-fixed-income-etfs.html","datePublished":"2026-04-01","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Vanguard","url":"https://corporate.vanguard.com/"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Vanguard"}},"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does the Vanguard paper conclude?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In an April 2026 podcast summary, Vanguard, citing Morningstar, says fixed income drew approximately $600 billion of flows in 2025, roughly 70% of it into ETFs. 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, bond ETFs had a net flow of +$35.7bn, summed over the 204 of 833 bond ETFs ETFIQ covers that have a daily figure. ETFIQ states both figures and does not reconcile them."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What does a bond ETF hold?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A basket of bonds, such as Treasuries or corporate bonds, with a duration and credit mix set by its index or manager."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Where can I read \u201cJeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs\u201d?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"On Vanguard\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":"Vanguard","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fix...","item":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs","description":"Vanguard\u2019s paper \u201cJeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs\u201d, summarized by ETFIQ with its own data beside it. Summary by ETFIQ.","url":"https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/","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":4742,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Research / Library / Vanguard / Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fix... \n \n Published Apr 1, 2026 by Vanguard. Summary by ETFIQ as of Oct 21, 2026.\n Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs\n In an April 2026 podcast summary, Vanguard, citing Morningstar, says fixed income drew approximately $600 billion of flows in 2025, roughly 70% of it into ETFs. \n Vanguard \u00b7 Issuer \u00b7 Read the full paper at Vanguard \u2197 \n What it says\n Figures as stated by Vanguard, Apr 1, 2026\n Vanguard sizes the U.S. ETF market at roughly $13 trillion in assets, citing Morningstar and ETFGI figures through November 30, 2025. (Vanguard)\n Jeff Johnson, who leads U.S. fixed income product at Vanguard, says advisors increasingly use active bond ETFs to hold a management team's chosen bonds in one liquid fund. (Vanguard)\n Vanguard says 42 of 48 of its actively managed bond funds beat their peer group averages over the 10 years to December 31, 2025. (Vanguard)\n Vanguard says its lineup carries a weighted expense ratio averaging 10 basis points, compared with 46 basis points industry-wide, according to Morningstar. (Vanguard)\n Vanguard says its bond and money market funds held $2.8 trillion as of December 31, 2025, run by more than 200 fixed income professionals. (Vanguard)\n The ETFIQ take\n ETFIQ data to Oct 20, 2026 \u00b7 the 204 of 833 bond ETFs with a daily figure, Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026\n Vanguard reports Morningstar's count of approximately $600 billion of fixed income flows in 2025, roughly 70% of which went to ETFs. From Sep 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, bond ETFs had a net flow of +$35.7bn, summed over the 204 of 833 bond ETFs ETFIQ covers that have a daily figure.\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 +$177.3bn net flow into bond ETFs, Jan 2, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, over the 184 of 833 with a daily figure , Oct 20, 2026. ETFIQ \n\n Paper: Fixed income fund flows, calendar year 2025. ETFIQ: the 204 of 833 bond ETFs 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 bond ETFs ETFIQ covers, by net assets\n BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: \u22121.9%\n AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF: \u22122.0%\n SGOV iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF: +3.7%\n BNDX Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: \u22121.2%\n VCIT Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF: \u22122.3%\n MUB iShares National Muni Bond ETF: \u22121.7%\n Figure: total return, 1 year, to Oct 21, 2026, from each fund\u2019s page. All 830 bond ETFs \u2192 \n Related papers\n Investment Company Institute \u00b7 Industry body \u00b7 Oct 20, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ take\n Release: Estimated ETF Net Issuance \n In an October 2026 release, the Investment Company Institute estimated net ETF issuance of $53.26 billion for the week to October 14, 2026.\n Flows Bonds Read the paper \u2197 \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 All 12 papers on bonds \u2192 \n Questions people ask\n What does the Vanguard paper conclude? In an April 2026 podcast summary, Vanguard, citing Morningstar, says fixed income drew approximately $600 billion of flows in 2025, roughly 70% of it into ETFs. 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, bond ETFs had a net flow of +$35.7bn, summed over the 204 of 833 bond ETFs ETFIQ covers that have a daily figure. ETFIQ states both figures and does not reconcile them. What does a bond ETF hold? A basket of bonds, such as Treasuries or corporate bonds, with a duration and credit mix set by its index or manager. Where can I read \u201cJeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs\u201d? On Vanguard\u2019s own site. ETFIQ summarizes the paper and does not host it. ETFIQ, Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs (Vanguard), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/ Free to use with attribution . Open data \n Summary by ETFIQ. ETFIQ is not affiliated with Vanguard; 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, Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs (Vanguard), summary and ETFIQ take, as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/library/vanguard-jeff-johnson-on-the-rise-of-active-fixed-income-etfs/"}