Actively managed ETF global market hits record high

Global actively managed ETF assets hit US$1.82 trillion ($2.81 trillion) in October, according to independent research and consultancy firm ETFGI, breaking the record set the previous month.

ETFGI’s October 2025 Active ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report revealed that net inflows to actively managed ETFs globally hit US$75.79 billion in October, which saw the year-to-date (YTD) net inflows hit a record US$523.51 billion.

In addition to a 55.2 per cent YTD increase on net flows, up from US$287.05 billion in 2024, October’s results saw it break the record for the second consecutive month after September saw assets hit US$1.73 trillion.

The ETF market continues to grow on a global scale, with October marking the 67th consecutive month of net inflows to the market. According to ETFGI, there are some 4,354 actively managed ETFs currently in operation, with 5,756 listings, across 629 listed providers on 46 exchanges and 36 countries.

While providers vie for space in the market, ETFGI revealed that Dimensional is the largest active ETF provider globally, capturing US$243.56 billion in assets and a 13.4 per cent share of the market.

JP Morgan Asset Management came in as a close second with a 13.2 per cent market share and US$239.88 billion, followed by iShares with US$106.74 billion (5.9 per cent).  

ETFGI said: “Together, these top three providers – out of 629 – account for 32.5 per cent of actively managed ETF assets worldwide, while each of the remaining 626 providers holds less than 6 per cent market share.”

Meanwhile, actively managed equity ETFs and ETPs attracted US$41.54 billion in October, marking a significant rise in YTD inflows as they hit US$298.07, up from US$158.73 billion at the same point in 2024.

Fixed-income ETFs also saw growth this year, with October reporting net inflows of US$28 billion, bringing the YTD inflows to US$196.67 billion compared to the US$111.90 billion seen at the end of October 2024.

Despite heavy investor engagement in this sector, EY’s quarterly ETF report, Australian ETF Overview, found that active ETF vehicles priced over 120pbs in Q3 were the only product segment to report annual outflows with a loss of 2.3 per cent.

This comes as pricing becomes an increasingly important factor for investors with 50 of the 164 active ETFs available on the Australian market priced at 50bps or less. Notably, these ETFs also saw the greatest yearly inflows with 6.7 per cent.