In the past two years, the scale has nearly doubled. US ETFs are “hot and scorching.”

Author: Zhang Yaqi; Source: Wall Street Insights

The U.S. ETF industry is accelerating an unprecedented expansion in real, modern history. Three core indicators—assets under management, capital inflows, and trading volume—have either hit or nearly reached historical records across 2026 simultaneously, as the industry ecosystem fully enters a high-speed operating state.

According to the latest assessment by Chris Lucas, head of ETF business at Goldman Sachs, this year U.S.-listed ETFs have already seen net inflows of more than $1 trillion, and the full-year net issuance is expected to exceed $2 trillion, breaking the 2025 historical record by more than 33%. Meanwhile, in the first half, total ETF trading volume surpassed $40 trillion, up 50% versus the same period in 2025.

Behind the continued surge of funds, U.S. large-cap tech stocks, semiconductors/AI, emerging markets and Korea-themed products, as well as actively managed ETFs, are the main drivers of this round of growth. Actively managed ETFs have attracted about $400 billion in net inflows so far this year, accounting for about 40% of total industry inflows, and is about three times their market share in terms of assets.

Assets nearing $1.6 trillion, nearly doubling in two years

Total assets of U.S.-listed ETFs have surpassed $1.56 trillion, and in the past two years the scale has nearly doubled. Goldman Sachs believes that with current momentum, reaching the $1.7 trillion level by year-end is “within reach.”

This growth rate is unprecedented in industry history. The rapid expansion in scale is driven jointly by capital inflows and rising asset prices, which create a positive feedback loop and push the industry to continue breaking through upward.

So far this year, ETF inflows not only have been massive in magnitude, but also show a high degree of persistence. In June, net inflows totaled $10k, the second-highest monthly inflow in Goldman Sachs’ dataset.

What’s even more noteworthy is that monthly performance close to record levels has become the norm. According to Goldman Sachs data, among the past seven months, the ETF industry experienced its five largest months ever for monthly inflow volumes—an unusual concentration.

From the perspective of fund flows, actively managed ETFs stand out particularly. Year-to-date, actively managed ETFs have received about $400 billion in inflows, accounting for nearly 40% of total industry inflows, while their assets under management represent only about 13% of the overall total. The rise of concentrated-theme ETFs is seen as a key new trend for 2026, continuing the logic that 2024 spot crypto ETFs opened up a new market access channel.

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

In the first half, the ETF ecosystem’s trading volume is operating at full speed. Average daily trading volume reached $325 billion, and June’s monthly cumulative trading volume totaled $7 trillion, also ranking second-highest in history.

Leveraged ETFs are the core engine behind this round of trading volume acceleration. In June, leveraged ETFs’ nominal trading volume hit a monthly record at $1.1 trillion, also up more than 50% versus the same period in 2025. If the leveraged effect is translated into actual exposure, using a 3x leveraged product as an example, leveraged ETFs generated total exposure of nearly $3 trillion in June—equivalent to about 40% of that month’s total nominal trading volume of all U.S.-listed ETFs.

At present, assets under management for leveraged ETFs are about $175 billion, but their actual total exposure has exceeded $430 billion. The multiple relationship between the two highlights how this class of products amplifies liquidity across the broader market.

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

ETF count surpasses domestic listed companies, new product issuance accelerates

The number of U.S.-listed ETFs has reached about 5,400, while the number of domestic listed companies is about 4,000. The ongoing “count-over-the-stock” advantage of ETFs over stocks continues to expand. As of this year-to-date, more than 770 new ETFs have launched, with 54% using derivatives and 33% classified as leveraged or inverse products.

Goldman Sachs expects that the rapid expansion of derivatives-based applications and concentrated-theme products will be the industry’s core trend in the second half. As a large number of pending products gradually take effect, the pace of new issuance is expected to remain elevated.

DRAM surpasses EWY, reshaping the storage-themed ETF landscape

The capital-migration effect brought by the rise of concentrated-theme ETFs is illustrated clearly in the storage chip theme. The theme ETF focusing on DRAM storage chips, DRAM, has officially surpassed the Korean ETF EWY—whose history spans 26 years—in total assets under management.

Although EWY’s net asset value has risen by nearly 50% since April this year, it recorded net outflows of about $2.0 billion over the same period. Goldman Sachs points out that the overlap between EWY’s and DRAM’s holdings is about 46%, meaning that to a certain extent, EWY had been an alternative tool for investors to position in the international storage theme. When a more precise theme channel emerges, capital migration quickly and clearly follows, demonstrating how fast the industry landscape can change after new market access tools are introduced.