August inflows see ETF FUM approach $300bn
ETFs saw inflows almost $5 billion during August, with international equities gaining double those of fixed-income funds, as total assets close in on $300 billion.
According to the monthly Betashares review, total funds under management (FUM) in ETFs now stand at $299.4 billion and have grown by $79.2 billion over the last 12 months.
This was helped by $4.9 billion in inflows during August, although this was less than July’s record of $5.8 billion.
Source: Betashares, September 2025
Half of these flows went into international equities at $2.4 billion, with funds such as Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF, Betashares Global Shares ETF, and iShares S&P 500 ETF being beneficiaries of these flows.
In second place were fixed-income ETFs, which gained $1.2 billion during August, with the Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF, in particular, gaining $232 million. Specifically, Australian bonds gained $779 million, which was far greater than the flows into global ones.
Having represented around a third of flows earlier in the year, Australian equity ETF inflows dropped down to just 17 per cent at $823 million this month.
Despite the lower level of inflows, four Australian equity ETFs still sat in the top 10 largest fund inflows for the month, which were Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF, iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF, Betashares Australia 200 ETF, and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF.
The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF retains its spot as the largest ETF, with $22 billion in funds under management, while Vanguard has $83.2 billion in FUM overall, which represents 27.8 per cent of total FUM.
Betashares noted that “product development returned” during August, with six new launches after a lull in July, which saw zero launches to bring the number of products to 436. This included the launch of the VanEck MSCI International Growth ETF and the Betashares MSCI Emerging Markets Complex ETF.
Money Management covered this week how ETF providers are looking at the phase-out of AT1 hybrid bonds when it comes to their product development, as investors will have to seek a new home for their assets. Instead, ETF providers suggested they could invest in subordinated debt, corporate, or investment-grade bonds.
Blair Hannon, head of ETFs at Macquarie Asset Management, said: “Subordinated debt is slightly higher up the capital stack of a bank than a hybrid. A key reason why we indicate it’s the most natural replacement is the decision by APRA stems around asking the banks to replace their hybrid funding with subordinated debts on their balance sheets.”
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Total monthly ETF inflows declined by 28 per cent from highs in November with Vanguard’s $21bn Australian Shares ETF faring worst in outflows.
