ETFs domiciled in Europe recorded net inflows of 12.8 billion dollars in March 2026, the lowest figure since March 2024. This is what emerges from the monthly summary by David HsuHead of Index Equity and ETF Product Specialism at Vanguard Europe, based on ETFbook data as of March 31, 2026.
The collection drivers
The slowdown, after months of record inflows, is attributed to investors’ greater risk aversion in a context of heightened volatility. According to the analysis, the uncertainty was fueled by the conflict in the Middle East, which contributed to a decline of 5.0% for US stocks, 7.3% for global stocks and 2.0% for global aggregate bonds in March.
Despite the monthly slowdown, net collections for the first quarter of 2026 stood at 124.9 billion dollarsa new quarterly high that surpasses the previous record of 20.1 billion dollars recorded in the third quarter of 2025.
Stock ETFs are still pushing
Equity ETFs raised 10.8 billion dollars, confirming themselves as the main asset class for intermediated volumes, albeit with a clear slowdown compared to previous months. The core segment led the inflows with 10.7 billion, followed by smart betas (4.0 billion) and thematics (1.1 billion). Outflows instead for sectorials (-2.1 billion) and for the ‘segment’ category (-1.7 billion), which includes exposures to specific market capitalizations such as small and mid caps. On a geographical level, global exposures attracted 6.3 billion dollars, followed by the Euro Area (2.7 billion) and Switzerland (1.9 billion). Negative balances for Chinese (-1.0 billion), German (-927 million) and American (-900 million) stocks.
Two-speed bond ETFs
The collection of bond ETFs stopped at 1.1 billion dollars. The ultra-short category recorded a positive balance of 5.5 billion, the highest monthly figure since the beginning of 2024, while inflation-linked bonds collected 1.0 billion. Significant outflows instead for high yield (-3.3 billion), followed by variable rate (-778 million), government (-574 million) and corporate (-527 million). Geographically, global exposures lead with $2.2 billion, ahead of Japan (601 million). Negative balances for emerging markets (-1.8 billion) and for the United Kingdom (-623 million).
Positive inflows also for multi-asset products and ETFs with exposure to raw materials. The alternatives category, however, recorded outflows.
