Bond ETFs on pace to top 2025 record after $180B August

August, the month US ETF flows are supposed to quiet down, produced $180 billion of inflows, roughly 3.8 times the historical average, State Street Investment Management reports, with the money arriving despite persistent macro uncertainty and a typical seasonal slowdown. Year-to-date inflows are now above $1.4 trillion.

The routing had a yield tilt. Bond ETFs collected $55 billion in August, lifting 2026 inflows to $407 billion and putting fixed income on pace to pass 2025's record of $448 billion in September. Equity ETFs took in $103 billion, a fifth straight month above $100 billion, while active ETFs banked $62 billion and pushed their 2026 total past $500 billion.

State Street reports that active derivative-income and dividend equity strategies have combined for nearly $100 billion of inflows this year, meaning investors wanted payout rather than pure market exposure. Sector flows made the same point: Technology ETFs saw $6 billion of outflows, Financials lost $5 billion, and Health Care absorbed $2.2 billion.

Bond ETFs ended August at $407 billion, $41 billion short of 2025's record after pulling in $55 billion during the month, so at anything close to that pace the old milestone falls before September is over.

The August tape left technology momentum funds as the outlier, with $6 billion of outflows while income strategies pulled in nearly $100 billion this year. September will show whether bond ETFs keep their $55 billion monthly pace and whether technology's exodus is a blip or a turn.