Exchange-Traded Europe | April 2026

Headlines – Global ETFs surpass $20 trillion milestone, Europe at $3.3 trillion

• Global ETF market surpasses major milestone: Global ETFs are now over $20 trillion AUM, while the European ETP market hit a record $3.3 trillion. Flows into European ETFs were up almost 20% over last quarter, with a notable $127.19 billion inflows in Q1.
• Core equity ETFs gain flows despite volatility: European core equity ETFs are at $1.41 trillion in assets, with $48.73 billion net flows in Q1. This was a 22.43% increase over the previous quarter’s flows, despite total assets falling slightly amid market volatility. (-0.50%).
• Fixed income ETFs steady, active ETFs surpass $100 billion: Flows into fixed income ETFs were down -26.33% in Q1, but total assets increased slightly (+1.70%) to reach $679.30 billion. Active ETF assets grew +6.71% to reach a record $103.23 billion.
• Commodity and options based ETFs see strong relative growth: AUM in both commodity and options based ETFs increased over 10% in Q1, with commodity ETFs in particular seeing a return to positive flows after a negative Q4 2025.
• No. European ETP brands continues to rise: In Q1, there were 12 new entrants to the European ETP market and 1 exit, bringing the total number of brands to 163. HANetf now accounts for nearly 20% of the total European ETF market by total number of brands.
• ETF launch enquiries remain high volume: HANetf continues to receive a high volume of enquiries from global asset managers to launch ETFs. Of the approximately 150 enquiries in Q1, we saw a 70/30 split between active and passive strategies.

Flows snapshot

*All European AUM data sourced from ETFBook as of 31.03.2026. Global AUM data sourced from ETFGI as of 27.02.2026. No. brands calculated using ETFGI and HANetf data.

Top AUM grower – options based ETFs

In Q1 2026, options based ETFs saw strong relative growth – assets increased 11.91% against the total market’s 1.16%. Commodity ETFs also did well, with an increase of 10.36%

Active ETFs continued to gain momentum, with assets increasing 6.71% to reach a record $103.23 billion.

ETCs and Fixed Income ETFs also outpaced the wider market, while core equity ETFs lagged with assets decreasing by -0.50%. Crypto ETPs saw the most drastic decline, at -22.82%.

Active ETFs continue growth

After an 86% AUM increase in 2025, active ETFs have continued to gain popularity in Europe.

So far in 2026, there have been 55 active ETF launches, bringing the total to 322 in Europe.

HANetf now has 28 active ETFs, the second most in Europe and over 7% of the total.

No. European ETP brands continues to rise

Over the past five quarters, the number of European ETP brands has risen from 131 to 163 – an increase of over 24%. Currently, HANetf accounts for almost 20% of these brands through its ETF partners.

In Q1 2026, HANetf has already welcomed three new ETF brands to Europe, representing a quarter of the new entrants: Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, Saba Capital, and Defiance ETFs.

Flows shift to European equity ETFs

Historically, US equity ETFs have enjoyed higher flows than their European counterparts. But since Q1 2025, that trend has notably reversed.

Over this period, European equity ETFs have seen higher inflows in every quarter, bar one.
The reasons for this may be manifold – from the current US administration’s unpredictable economic and foreign policies, to the fact that indices abroad have enjoyed stronger returns. We are also seeing a weaker US dollar, and fears that the AI boom has overinflated US mega caps.

Either way, the trend is clear. Flows into US equity ETFs are decreasing, while flows into European equity ETFs are rising.

For illustrative purposes only.

Source of all European AUM data: ETFBook as of 31.03.2026. Source of all US AUM data: ETFGI as of 27.02.26. No. brands calculated using ETFGI and HANetf data. Additional sources available upon request.