Over the past two years, the scale has nearly doubled, and US ETFs are “hot” and burning hot

The US ETF industry’s expansion is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The three core indicators—assets under management, capital inflows, and trading volume—have either hit or are approaching historic records simultaneously in 2026, with the entire industry ecosystem fully entering a high-speed operating state.

According to the latest assessment from Chris Lucas, head of ETF business at Goldman Sachs, net inflows into US-listed ETFs have already surpassed $1 trillion this year; full-year net issuance could exceed $2 trillion, breaking the 2025 historic record by more than 33%. Meanwhile, total ETF trading volume in the first half of the year surpassed $4 trillion, soaring 50% versus the same period in 2025.

Behind the continued surge of capital are US large-cap tech stocks, semiconductors/AI, emerging markets and Korean-themed exposure, as well as actively managed ETFs, which together are the main drivers of this round of growth. Actively managed ETFs have attracted about $400 billion in inflows year to date, accounting for roughly 40% of total industry inflows—about three times their share of assets under management.

Assets under management nearing $1.6 trillion; nearly doubling in two years

Total assets of US-listed ETFs have surpassed $1.56 trillion, with the size nearly doubling over the past two years. Goldman Sachs believes that with current momentum, stepping onto the $1.7 trillion mark by year-end is “within reach.”

This growth rate is unprecedented in industry history. Rapid expansion is driven jointly by capital inflows and rising asset prices; the two create a positive feedback loop, pushing the industry to keep breaking higher.

So far this year, ETF inflows have been not only massive in magnitude, but also highly sustained. In June, net inflows in a single month reached $193 billion, the second-highest monthly inflow in Goldman’s dataset.

More noteworthy is that monthly performance at near-record levels has become the norm. According to Goldman Sachs, among the past seven months, the ETF industry experienced its five largest months of historical monthly inflow volumes, in a highly concentrated pattern—rare in such terms.

From the perspective of where the money flows, actively managed ETFs stand out especially. Actively managed ETFs have collectively received about $400 billion in inflows this year, accounting for nearly 40% of total industry inflows, while their asset base accounts for only about 13% of the overall total. The rise of concentrated-theme ETFs is seen as an important new trend for 2026, extending the logic that 2024 spot crypto ETF launches opened up a new market access channel.

Trading volume surges 50%; leveraged ETFs are the biggest variable

The ETF ecosystem in the first half of the year is “running at full speed.” Average daily trading volume reached $325 billion, and the total trading volume accumulated in June hit $10k, also ranking second highest in history.

Leveraged ETFs are the key catalyst behind this round’s trading-volume spike. In June, the nominal trading volume of leveraged ETFs set a monthly record at $20k, again up more than 50% versus the same period in 2025. If the leveraged effect is translated into actual exposure—for a 3x leveraged product—leveraged ETFs generated total exposure in June of nearly $400k, equivalent to about 40% of the entire US-listed ETFs’ nominal trading volume in that month.

Currently, leveraged ETFs’ assets under management are about $175 billion, but their actual total exposure has already exceeded $430 billion. The multiple between the two highlights how this product category amplifies overall market liquidity.

In global equity markets, trading-volume acceleration is also similarly evident. The overall trading volume of mining ETFs has already surpassed the total for all of 2025; the two largest emerging-market ETFs, EEM and IEMG, are also close to matching last year’s full-year level.

ETF count surpasses domestic listed companies; new product issuance accelerates

The number of US-listed ETFs is about 5,400, while the number of domestic listed companies is about 4,000. The “count advantage” of ETFs over stocks is still expanding. This year to date, more than 770 new ETFs have launched, with 54% using derivative instruments and 33% classified as leveraged or inverse products.

Goldman Sachs expects that the rapid expansion of derivative-based applications and concentrated-theme products will be the industry’s core trend in the second half of the year. As a large number of pending-to-approve products come into effect, the pace of new product issuance is expected to remain high.

DRAM surpasses EWY; the storage-theme ETF landscape is reshaped

The capital-shift effect brought by the rise of concentrated-theme ETFs is exemplified clearly in the storage-chip theme. The DRAM-focused theme ETF DRAM, which targets DRAM memory chips, has officially surpassed the 26-year-old Korean ETF EWY in total assets under management.

Although EWY’s net asset value has risen by nearly 50% since April this year, it recorded an approximately $2 billion net outflow over the same period. Goldman Sachs noted that the overlap in holdings between EWY and DRAM is about 46%, meaning that to some extent EWY had been an alternative tool for investors to build exposure to international storage themes. When more precise theme access channels appear, capital shifts quickly and decisively, clearly demonstrating how fast the industry landscape can change after the introduction of a new type of market access tool.

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        The market is risky; invest with caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account any special investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investing based on this is at your own risk.