ETFGI Reports Global Thematic ETF Industry Gathered a Record US$ 43.99 Billion in July as YTD Net Inflows Reach All-Time High of US$ 112.26 Billion

Press Release

LONDON — August 21, 2026 — ETFGI reported today the Global Thematic ETF Industry Gathered a Record US$ 43.99 Billion in July as YTD Net Inflows Reach All-Time High of US$ 112.26 Billion. During July the Thematic ETFs industry globally gathered net inflows of US$43.99 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$112.26 billion, according to ETFGI’s July 2026 ETF Thematic industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service. ETFGI, is a 14 year old leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, 6 annual ETFGI Global ETFs Insights Summits, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted)

 

Highlights

  • Assets invested in the global thematic ETF industry stood at US$623.89 billion at the end of July 2026, slightly below the record high of US$646.82 billion reached at the end of June 2026.
  • Despite the month-end decline from the June record, thematic ETF assets have increased 30.2% year-to-date, rising from US$479.08 billion at the end of 2025 to US$623.89 billion at the end of July 2026.
  • Thematic ETFs gathered a record US$43.99 billion in net inflows during July 2026, surpassing the previous monthly record of US$41.15 billion set in July 2018.
  • Year-to-date net inflows reached a record US$112.26 billion, significantly exceeding the previous high of US$69.36 billion recorded in 2021 and well above the US$25.67 billion gathered during the same period in 2025.
  • Thematic ETFs have now recorded 20 consecutive months of net inflows, highlighting sustained investor demand for long-term structural growth and innovation-focused investment themes.
  • YTD 254 new ETFs have been launched by 105 providers and 29 ETFs have closed.

 

“The S&P 500 declined slightly by 0.06% in July but remained up 10.14% year-to-date in 2026. Developed markets excluding the US gained 0.30% during July and were up 14.62% year-to-date, with Luxembourg (+12.10%) and Norway (+9.93%) posting the strongest gains among developed markets. Emerging markets fell 0.33% in July but remained up 9.40% year-to-date, while Taiwan (-7.80%) and Turkey (-5.91%) recorded the largest declines among emerging markets,” according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, Founder, and Owner of ETFGI. 

 

Growth in assets in the Thematic ETFs industry as of end of July

Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: “ETFs” are typically open-end index funds that provide daily portfolio transparency, are listed and traded on exchanges like stocks on a secondary basis as well as utilising a unique creation and redemption process for primary transactions. “ETPs” refers to other products that have similarities to ETFs in the way they trade and settle but they do not use a mutual fund structure. The use of other structures including grantor trusts, partnerships, notes and depositary receipts by ETPs can create different tax and regulatory implications for investors when compared to ETFs which are funds.

 

Since the launch of the first Thematic ETF in 2001, the number and diversity of products have increased steadily.  The Thematic ETFs industry had 1,931 ETFs, with 3,565 listings, assets of $623.89 Bn, from 308 providers listed on 55 exchanges in 43 countries at the end of July.

ETF Issuers

iShares remained the largest provider of thematic ETFs globally at the end of July 2026, with $92.42 Bn in assets under management and a 14.8% market share. Mirae Asset ranked second with $61.76 Bn in assets and a 9.9% market share, while First Trust placed third with $42.89 Bn and a 6.9% market share. Together, the three largest providers managed $197.1 Bn in thematic ETF assets, representing 31.6% of total thematic ETF assets globally.

In terms of asset gathering, Mirae Asset led the group in July with $1.33 Bn in net inflows, followed by iShares with $552 Mn and First Trust with $538 Mn.  YTD, Mirae Asset also led the top three providers with $11.37 Bn in net inflows, significantly ahead of iShares with $7.78 Bn and First Trust with US$7.47 Bn.

In terms of asset gathering, however, ChinaAMC and Roundhill were the stand-out performers. ChinaAMC led all providers in July with $11.86 billion in net infows, representing approximately 27.0% of the thematic ETF industry's record $43.99 billion of inflows during the month. Roundhill ranked second in July with $6.16 billion in net inflows and was the leading provider YTD, attracting $26.41 billion in net new assets, equivalent to 23.5% of the industry's record $112.26 billion in YTD inflows.

 

Net Flows

Technology and Innovation themes continued to dominate investor allocations within the global thematic ETF industry at the end of July. Technology-themed ETFs were the largest segment, with $194.5 billion in assets under management. Technology ETFs attracted the second-highest monthly net inflows of all thematic categories at $17.8 billion in July and a record $46.0 billion in year-to-date net inflows, accounting for more than 40% of total thematic ETF inflows in 2026. Innovation-themed ETFs ranked as the third-largest category by assets with $109.7 billion and led all thematic categories in July net inflows with a record $19.9 billion, while gathering $21.8 billion in net new assets YTD, highlighting strong investor demand for AI, robotics, and disruptive technology-related investment themes.

Climate Change ETFs were the second-largest thematic exposure by assets, with $132.6 billion under management. The category gathered $1.7 billion in net inflows during July and $12.5 billion year-to-date. Infrastructure ETFs also experienced strong demand, attracting $1.9 billion in July and $18.3 billion in net new assets YTD while growing assets to $78.8 billion, reflecting investor interest in long-term spending programs, energy security, and economic modernization initiatives.

Healthcare and Resources Management themes posted solid growth, gathering $1.9 billion and $124 million in net inflows during July, bringing YTD net inflows to $7.6 billion and US$3.4 billion respectively. Consumer-themed ETFs lagged other major categories, attracting $536 million in July and just $2.0 billion in year-to-date inflows despite holding $45.2 billion in assets.

Overall, Technology and Innovation themes accounted for $37.6 billion of the record $44.0 billion gathered by thematic ETFs in July, representing more than 85% of monthly inflows. These two categories also attracted US$67.8 billion, or more than 60% of the industry's record $112.3 billion in year-to-date net inflows, demonstrating that investors continue to favor growth-oriented themes linked to digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and technological disruption.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs/ETPs by net new assets, which collectively gathered 
$32.79 Bn, during July. Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM US) gathered $6.19 Bn, the largest individual net inflow.

Top 20 Thematic ETFs/ETPs by net new assets July 2026

Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: This report is based on the most recent data available at the time of publication. Asset and flow data may change slightly as additional data becomes available.

 

Please contact deborah.fuhr@etfgi.com if you would like to discuss the cost to subscribe to any of ETFGI’s research or consulting services. 


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The summit is designed as an educational event for financial advisors and institutional investors in the United States. Industry leaders from issuers, regulators, investors, exchanges, and trading firms will share insights on the selection, use and trading of ETFs, including active, virtual assets, market structure, regulations, novel ETFs, tokenisation, prediction markets and technological advancements shaping ETF innovation and usage.

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  • Aniruddha Chatterjee, CEO - NSE Indices, Data and Cogencis, NSE Indices Limited
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  • Barry Hurley, Director Business Development, Universal Investment 
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  • Tara O'Reilly, Partner and Head of ETF Strategy, Arthur Cox LLP 
  • Kim Tilley, Managing Director, Head of Investment Solutions, Lazard Asset Management 
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  • Morrison Warren, Partner, Chapman and Cutler LLP

 

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