ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 7/2/26; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
The Q2 Flowdown: ETFs Smash Records to Start Summer by Kirsten Chang
“Total ETF industry assets hit a record $15 trillion, while 1H inflows exceeded $1 trillion for the first time ever.”
(Note: Kirsten joined me on last week’s ETF Prime to highlight ETF flows and key milestones from the first half of the year. You can watch the interview below.)
SEC Mulls New ETF Rules as $16T Boom Disrupts Status Quo by Isabelle Lee
“We really only have one tool to regulate an ETF that we’re not happy with.”
(Note: If interested, you can read the SEC’s full request for comment on novel ETFs here.)
GTS’s Reggie Browne on the Evolution of ETFs by Anna Lyudvig
“Despite the rapid pace of ETF launches, Browne believes the industry’s growth is far from over.”
Treasury Announces Investment Lineup for Trump Accounts by Deborah Fuhr
“The program is notable because it relies exclusively on low-cost, broad-market ETFs.”
How Micron Became 25% of a Value ETF by Brendan McCann
“The only thing that has grown more than Micron’s price has been its projected earnings.”
Spot bitcoin ETFs record worst month since debut, shedding $4.5 billion in June by Danny Park
“It reads more as speculative exposure cooling than long-term conviction leaving.”
ETF Post of the Week
There has been a lot of discussion recently about the explosive growth of leveraged ETFs and the potential market implications. Bloomberg’s Simon White:
“ETFs are only the tip of the leverage iceberg, but let’s start there. Banks supply much of what is required by ETFs, typically through total return swaps. The bank pays the ETF its required return, say 2x or 3x of a stock or index, and buys a combination of cash equities and derivatives to hedge, with the cash equities often repo-ed out.”
He goes on to tie leveraged ETFs to risks in money market funds:
“There is therefore a strand that takes us from retail traders chasing leveraged upside in stocks via ETFs, to banks who are able to offer that leverage as they can offload other balance-sheet risk onto money market funds – whose investors have deliberately chosen not to chase the rally. There’s nowhere to hide.”
However, Simon’s Bloomberg colleague Eric Balchunas reminds us that the notional exposure embedded in leveraged ETFs is less than 1% of the U.S. equity market.
Real boogeyman or unnecessary hand-wringing?
The markets favorite boogeyman… or paper tiger? Leveraged ETFs despite the attn they receive only acct for 1-2% of ETF assets but.. they make up 10% of all ETF trading and 1/3 of all new launches (they all charge 1% so only need one hit to pay for many duds). However, if you… pic.twitter.com/QMS3QpNirP
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 30, 2026
ETF Chart of the Week
ETFs eclipsed $1 trillion in inflows during the first six months of 2026, setting a new record. State Street’s Matt Bartolini:
“June’s $196 billion inflow pushed year-to-date totals past $1 trillion—the first time flows have crossed that threshold in the first half. If the year ended today, the first six months of 2026 would rank as the third-largest full calendar year total on record.
With seasonally stronger second-half demand—especially the typical Q4 pickup—we project full-year 2026 flows to reach $2.3 trillion (Figure 1), setting a new annual record and far outpacing 2025’s record $1.5 trillion. In fact, rolling 12-month flows are already at $2 trillion—a new record for any 12-month period and a potential precursor to our end of 2026 projection.”
The industry is firing on all cylinders.
Source: State Street’s Matt Bartolini
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Paul Marino, Chief Revenue Officer at Themes ETFs, and Kirsten Chang, Senior Industry Analyst at VettaFi. Paul spotlighted the highly successful debut of the Leverage Shares 2X Long SPCX Daily ETF (SPCH) and the Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF (SSPC). He also discussed investor education and key due diligence considerations for leveraged and inverse single-stock ETFs. Kirsten recapped the ETF industry in the first half of 2026, highlighting key milestones and important stories reflected in the flow data. She also looked ahead to the second half of the year through the lens of recent VettaFi advisor polling data.
Crypto Prime Podcast
Matt Cole, Chairman & CEO of Strive, joined me on last week’s Crypto Prime to go in depth on bitcoin structured finance, including SATA, the firm’s publicly traded preferred equity security. He also discussed the drivers behind bitcoin’s recent pullback and the factors that could shift momentum moving forward.
