It’s been another year of record-breaking feats for ETFs. Various firms are pegging this year’s inflows to cross the $2 trillion milestone, and Goldman Sachs added its stamp of approval to that forecast. According to new data from Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets, this represents a 40% jump over 2025’s intake. Already, investors have poured over $1 trillion into U.S.-listed ETFs during the first half of this year alone. This further highlights how the vehicle is expanding its product suite from traditional passive funds to more actively managed fund launches, single-stock variants, thematic investing, and other offerings in a hyper-competitive landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• U.S.-listed ETFs are projected to reach $2 trillion in net inflows in 2026, which is a 40% jump over 2025 levels.
• Actively managed strategies are leading this expansion by capturing over 35% of year-to-date inflows despite representing just 13% of total industry assets.
• This surge is accompanied by rapid product innovation and portfolio customization, pushing the total number of U.S. ETFs toward 6,000 offerings while daily trading volume expands by 50% year-over-year.

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Active and Customization Driving Expansion

A prime catalyst behind this record growth is the accelerated adoption of actively managed ETFs. According to Goldman Sachs, actively managed funds currently capture more than 35% of net year-to-date inflows, despite accounting for roughly 13% of the total $16.1 trillion in U.S. ETF assets under management. Along with retail investors, institutional investors are increasingly leaning on active ETF strategies to capture benchmark outperformance, execute tactical rebalancing, and access sophisticated derivative or income-oriented structures.

“We’re now seeing some of the most advanced active management strategies in the markets expressed within the ETF wrapper,” said Tom Campbell, head of Americas ETF distribution in Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets. “These range from levered funds to innovative fixed income offerings to structured derivatives.”

Simultaneously, Goldman Sachs also noted that demand for portfolio customization is propelling two distinct trends. First, ETF assets tied to ready-made third-party model portfolios jumped 46% over the last 12 months to reach $950 billion. This reflects high adoption among wealth managers and registered investment advisors. Second, rapid product innovation has accelerated the market, putting the total number of U.S.-listed ETFs on track to surpass 6,000 offerings. To punctuate this level of growth, it’s notable to mention that this exceeds the number of single stocks available in the domestic market.

AI Landscape Increasing ETF Adoption

The persistent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to drive elevated ETF demand as the technology sees more widespread adoption. Specific areas of note that are seeing increased trading activity are semiconductor and software ETFs. To this point, South Korea has witnessed increased activity surrounding semiconductor ETFs amid the AI buildout frenzy, which is also prevalent here in the U.S.

“Semiconductor ETFs recorded their largest aggregate month of inflows in June — more than $19 billion,” said Jackson Isaacs, head of Americas equity ETF trading in Global Banking & Markets. “Conversely, software ETFs recorded outflows of roughly $1.9 billion, which was one of the largest monthly redemptions since 2018.”

Campbell also added that daily trading activity reflects this shift. The ETF industry is averaging approximately $320 billion in daily notional volume, which constitutes a 50% increase over 2025 levels. During periods of heightened equity market stress, ETFs frequently account for up to 40% of total market tape volume.

“Investors are clearly gravitating to these products from a hedging and rebalancing standpoint, and this is strongest during times of heightened volatility,” Campbell said. “Investors are continually leaning into ETFs.”

Ultimately, the combination of intra-day liquidity, tax efficiency, and rapid strategy innovation cements the ETF wrapper as an essential pillar in investing.”

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