ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 1/8/26; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
(Note: To kick off 2026, I’m sharing several ETF prediction pieces, including one from yours truly, that offer a nice snapshot of the key industry stories to watch in the year ahead.)
6 ETF Investing Predictions for 2026 by Zachary Evens
“Expect ETFs to gain significant ground on mutual fund assets in the coming years, starting with a wave of discretionary active ETF launches this year.”
6 ETF Predictions for 2026 by Sumit Roy
“Barring a major market drawdown, it has a legitimate shot at becoming the first trillion-dollar ETF in 2026.”
2026 ETF Industry Outlook: 5 Trends Driving Growth & Innovation by Scott Dennis
“We anticipate continued innovation and expansion in the ETF space.”
Three ETF Encores Worth Watching in 2026 by Todd Rosenbluth
“It will be hard to top 2025 for the ETF industry following a record $1.49 trillion of net inflows.”
Lastly, my 5 ETF Predictions for 2026. Enjoy!
U.S. ETF Summary: December and Full Year 2025 Results by Jose Paulo Tolentino
“131 ETFs launched in December, for a record annual total of 1,167 new funds.”
2026 ETF.com Award Nominees by ETF.com
“2025 proved a busy year for the ETF industry with over 1,100 launches by year’s end.”
Wait, Tesla Is a Value Stock? Welcome to the Wacky World of Factor ETFs by Jason Zweig
“That’s because different ETF managers define the same factor in drastically divergent ways.”
‘Venezuela Exposure’ ETF Filed With SEC Days After Maduro Ouster by Katie Greifeld
“It’s something that isn’t totally ETF-able. It’s a frontier country with no liquidity.”
Are Buffer ETFs too Expensive for the Protection You Get? by Derek Horstmeyer
“The average expense ratio was 0.76% for a 10% buffer ETF, 0.74% for a 12% buffer ETF and 0.74% for a 20% buffer ETF.”
Grayscale’s Ethereum ETF Begins Paying Staking Rewards by Vince Dioquino
“Grayscale distributed Ethereum staking rewards to holders of its ETHE product.”
‘Shocker’: Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin and Solana ETF filings signal deep institutional commitment to crypto by Jason Shubnell
“Institutions are charging at crypto full-speed and see it as a key business priority.”
ETF Post of the Week
The ETF Educator has clearly failed at its job. How do I know? Watch for yourself…
None of the contestants on Jeopardy tonight knew what “ETF” stood for 🤦 ht @untitled_wip pic.twitter.com/RzwBRKczY4
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 8, 2026
ETF Chart of the Week
2025 was one for the ETF history books. I’ll let State Street’s Matt Bartolini explain:
“US-listed ETFs took in a record $1.515 trillion in 2025, vastly outpacing 2024’s record $1.152 trillion. A massive $235 billion inflow in December—the industry’s first-ever $200 billion-plus month— boosted inflows. That mammoth month helped the industry take in $564 billion in the fourth quarter alone—double the Q4 average inflow of $265 billion. Risk-on optimism, the acceleration of secular trends (e.g., low-cost, active), and seasonal buying behavior acted as heavy-handed catalysts for this record run to finish 2025. The fact that Q4 2025 inflows alone were greater than full-year totals in 2018, 2019, and 2020 illustrates how large the industry has become. And these inflows, combined with supportive market returns, pushed total assets under management to $13.4 trillion—another new record.”
What. A. Year.
Source: State Street’s Matt Bartolini
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Cullen Roche, Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds, discussing his new book, Your Perfect Portfolio: The ultimate guide to using the world’s most powerful investing strategies. He also breaks down the firm’s recently launched suite of Defined Duration ETFs. Plus, Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, shared the five ETF stories he’s watching most closely as 2026 gets underway.
Crypto Prime Podcast
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, joined me on last week’s Crypto Prime to break down 10 crypto predictions for the year ahead, including why he believes more than 100 crypto-linked ETFs could launch in the U.S.
