The inflows into the European ETF industry over the course of H1 2026 (+€221.7 bn) are on course to reach a new annual all-time high at the end of 2026. Unsurprisingly, March 2026 was the month with the lowest inflows into ETFs (+€10.5 bn) for 2026 so far. Nevertheless, the inflows for March show how resilient the fund flows into ETFs in Europe are, especially if one takes into account that mutual funds in Europe saw overall outflows for the same month.
The trend for the estimated net flows over the course of H1 2026 was somewhat surprising, especially the high inflows for January (+€48.2 bn) and February (+€48.7 bn), as both months were setting back-to-back new records for monthly inflows into ETFs in Europe and brought the inflows into ETFs to a new level. That said, the old record for monthly inflows into ETFs in Europe stood at €39.6 bn (October 2025).
Despite the somewhat rough market environment, the inflows in the European ETF industry for H1 2026 were driven by equity ETFs (+€170.8 bn), followed by bond ETFs (+€39.0 bn), money market ETFs (+€11.1 bn), commodities ETFs (+€0.6 bn), mixed-assets ETFs (+€0.2 bn), and alternatives ETFs (+€0.02 bn).
At the end of June, the European ETF market was split into 191 different Lipper Global Classifications (peer groups). The net inflows of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications accounted for €154.4 bn. In line with the overall sales trend for H1 2026, equity peer groups (+€139.0 bn) dominated the flows by asset type in the table of the 10 best-selling peer groups by estimated net inflows.
Given the overall fund flow trend in the European ETF industry, it was somewhat surprising that Equity Global (+€65.9 bn) was the best-selling Lipper global classification for H1 2026 since this spot was held by Equity U.S. for a long time. Nevertheless, Equity U.S. (+€27.9 bn) was the second best-selling Lipper classification for the year so far, followed by Equity Emerging Markets Global (+€15.7 bn), Money Market EUR (+€8.4 bn), and Bond Global USD (+€7.1 bn).
Graph 1: Ten Best- and Worst-Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, January 1 – June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Talking about Equity U.S., graph 2 shows that the fund flows into Equity U.S. slowed down in November 2025 before the fund flows returned to an even higher level in Q2 2026. The slowdown, which actually led to outflows, in November 2025 may have been caused by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and an overall uncertain market environment. Conversely, the high inflows into Equity U.S. over Q2 2026 might have been driven by fear of missing out, since increasing U.S. stock markets—driven by the wider AI theme and good results during Q1 earning announcements—may have made European investors feeling that they are leaving returns on the table.
Graph 2: Estimated Net Sales in the Equity US, Equity Sector Information Technology, and Equity Europe Classification, January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 (Euro Billions)
Source: LSEG Lipper
At the same time when the flows into Equity U.S. slowed down, the inflows into Equity Europe started to increase, leading to the assumption that some investors had started to overweight or at least return to a neutral position for their allocations to European equities given the attractive valuations of European stocks compared to their U.S. peers.
Nevertheless, this pattern reversed when the inflows into Equity U.S. got back on track over the course of Q2 2026. That said, Equity Europe (+€7.1 bn) still appeared on the list of the 10 best-selling Lipper classifications over the course of H1 2026. Since we witnessed three consecutive months with outflows from Equity Europe, the former trend seems to be broken. That said, this needs to be observed further before we can draw a final conclusion.
The fear of missing out may also be shown by the estimated net inflows into Equity Sector Information Technology since the performance of the ETFs in this sector is also driven by the wider AI theme. As chart 2 shows, the monthly flows into this classification follow the flows into Equity U.S. Hence, we witnessed a strong increase of the inflows in Equity Sector Information Technology in Q2 2026 after a slowdown in Q1 2026.
When it comes to the overall fund flows pattern, it was surprising to see only one bond classification (Bond Global USD +€7.1 bn) on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications for the first half of 2026. That said, European investors seem to be in a risk-on mode when it comes to their bond allocations, as Bond Global USD was followed by Bond EMU Government (+€3.9 bn), Bond Global Corporates USD (+€2.5 bn), Loan Participation Funds (+€2.0 bn), and Bond USD Government (+€1.7 bn). Hence, European investors seem to prefer USD bonds over EUR bonds despite the currency risk and are looking for additional returns from corporate bonds and private credit.
The general trend of inflows into money market products continued over the course of the first half of 2026, as some European investors may have put some money on the sidelines or bought money market ETFs instead of short-term bond ETFs. With regards to this, it was not surprising to see Money Market EUR (+€8.4 bn) on the table of the 10 best-selling classifications in the European ETF industry, followed by Money Market USD (+€2.7 bn) at seventeenth place on the table.
On the other side of the table, the 10 classifications with the highest estimated net outflows for H1 2026 accounted for €9.1 bn in outflows.
Equity Sector Financials (-€2.4 bn) was the classification with the highest outflows for the month. It was bettered by Commodity Precious Metals (-€1.4 bn), Equity Germany Small & Mid Cap (-€1.2 bn), Equity China (-€1.1 bn), and Equity Sector Gold & Precious Metals (-€1.0 bn).
Generally speaking, a view of the Lipper classifications with the highest outflows may indicate that European investors have reduced or closed some of their non-core positions over the course of H1 2026. These transactions might have been profit taking or have been caused by a general reduction of the overall risk/reallocation of risk budgets in the portfolios of European investors.
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The views expressed are the views of the author, not necessarily those of LSEG.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.