Chief ETF Strategist
ETF Strategist
AUM, flows and more
- U.S. ETF assets decreased by 2.95% in March 2025 to $10.4 trillion.
- Despite rocky market performance, ETF flows remained strong in March, totaling over $96 billion, with about 69% directed toward equities and 22% toward fixed income. For the year, ETF flows totaled about $295 billion.
Active spotlight
- Flows totaled about $32 billion in March 2025, with about 63% going into equities and about 31% into fixed income. Total assets ended the month at $985 billion.
- Over 39% of ETF flows in 2025 have gone into active strategies.
- 72 active ETFs were launched in March. Active ETFs represent 83% of total ETF launches in 2025.
Active ETFs Transforming the Investment Landscape
Last week, the Exchange conference in Las Vegas brought together a vibrant cross-section of the ETF ecosystem, including market makers, issuers, data providers, strategists and many more. One of the strongest themes throughout the conference was the palpable buzz around actively managed ETFs and their outlook for continued growth. As the graph to the right shows, regulatory changes implemented in 2019 were a major inflection point for the ETF industry, and active ETFs in particular. The popularity of ETFs has skyrocketed, with assets now totaling a robust $11 trillion. While active ETFs represent just under 10% of the market at roughly $1 trillion, they are gaining ground rapidly. Thus far in 2025, active ETFs account for over 30% of total ETF flows. As assets into active ETFs have surged, so too has the number of active ETFs—there are now more than 2,000 active ETFs, compared to just 350 in 2020. Though ETFs were introduced over 30 years ago, their appeal continues to grow thanks to structural advantages like transparency, liquidity, cost-effectiveness, tax efficiency and accessibility. These benefits have enabled the ETF wrapper to expand across asset classes. For active managers, recent innovations within the ETF structure have given them more flexibility in managing their strategies, particularly improving tax efficiency and operational cost savings—ultimately benefiting end investors. Considering the ongoing momentum in the space and the enthusiasm that we observed at Exchange, we expect active managers will continue to adopt ETFs at an accelerated pace, transforming how investment strategies are delivered and accessed.
Guide to ETFs featured slide of the month (slide 15)
Over a decade of active ETF growth
Source: Active ETFs are determined by non-index funds. Rest of the world consists of Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and Vietnam. *Compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Source: Bloomberg, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
Guide to ETFs. Data as of January 31, 2025.
ETF characteristics
Source: J.P. Morgan Asset Management. For Illustrative purposes only. Investors must buy and sell units on a secondary market with the assistance of an intermediary (e.g. a stockbroker) and may incur fees for doing so. In addition, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. The tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future.
Guide to ETFs. Data as of January 31, 2025.