ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 1/15/26; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
Not Dead Yet: ETF Innovation is Thriving by Dave Nadig
“Regulatory innovation is NOT dead. Essentially every category has some level of real innovation going on.”
What Today’s Index ETFs Get Right, and Wrong, for Investors by Bryan Armour
“The first active ETF didn’t launch until 15 years after SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF SPY made its debut in the US, and passive ETFs still account for 91% of US ETF assets.”
Trump Media ETFs Test Brand Power in Crowded $14 Trillion Market by Isabelle Lee
“Political themes can be tricky because it is not clear that people utilize their investment portfolios to express their political views.”
Congress May Complicate ETFs That Track Lawmakers’ Trades by Sumit Roy
“If Congress ever imposed a true stock trading ban, the strategy behind NANC and GOP would become effectively unworkable.”
The Top 10 Takeaways for Financial Advisors in the 2026 Crypto Landscape by Todd Rosenbluth
“For advisors, the growing suite of crypto-related ETFs offers a regulated, familiar structure that simplifies tax reporting and custody.”
From Bitcoin to ETF: Inside the Section 351 Strategy Financial Advisors Are Starting to Ask About by Matthew Bucklin
“You contribute your Bitcoin, you get stock in Bitcoin Co., and the IRS is happy because you still have economic exposure to Bitcoin, just in corporate form.”
XRP ETFs have been ‘pleasantly surprising’ but still have one thing to prove, according to Bitwise by Pedro Solimano
“Since launching in November, XRP ETFs have attracted over $1.2 billion with net inflows recorded every day excepting one.”
ETF Post of the Week
This stat caught my attention: “Retail investors have bought the largest physical-backed silver ETF, SLV, for 169 consecutive days, the longest streak on record.”
The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is already up 26% in 2026 and nearly 190% over the past year. Along with the abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR), physically backed silver ETFs have attracted nearly $3.5 billion in net inflows over the past 12 months.
A number of factors are commonly cited to explain silver’s sharp rise, including booming industrial demand (think semiconductors, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics), persistent supply deficits, a weaker US dollar, and expectations for lower interest rates.
But it’s increasingly clear that another meaningful driver is at work: sustained speculative interest and fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) from retail investors!
The silver rush:
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 16, 2026
Retail investors have bought the largest physical-backed silver ETF, $SLV, for 169 consecutive days, the longest streak on record.
Over the last 30 days alone, silver-linked ETFs, $SLV, $PSLV, and $AGQ, have attracted a record +$921.8 million in inflows.… pic.twitter.com/v3k8gLrc0d
ETF Chart of the Week
The actively managed ETF story continues to dominate industry conversations. I’ve probably posted more charts on here referencing active ETF growth than any other topic over the past several years. The chart below shows active ETF launches by category. According to Morningstar, nearly 1,000 active ETFs launched last year, accounting for 35% of the existing roughly 2,800 US-domiciled active ETFs. Read that stat again closely.
While there are various shades of “active”, the trajectory is clear – and the growth is astounding.
(Note: State Street’s Matt Bartolini will join me on next week’s ETF Prime to offer some interesting perspective on the rise of active ETFs, particularly in the fixed income category.)
Source: Morningstar’s Stephen Welch
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured John Davi, Founder & Chief Investment Officer at Astoria Portfolio Advisors, along with Ryan Barksdale, Head of Active Equity Product at Vanguard, and Kim Gailun, Head of Equity Boutiques at Wellington Management. John highlighted the firm’s 10 ETFs for 2026. Ryan and Kim discussed their firms’ collaboration in bringing Vanguard’s first active equity ETFs to market.
