ETF Inflows Hit $462 Billion in Q1 as Investors Ignore Market Drop

Investors poured $120.7 billion into U.S.-listed ETFs in March, extending what has already been a remarkable start to the year.

That brought total inflows for 2026 to $462 billion after just one quarter. If that pace keeps up, ETFs could pull in close to $2 trillion for the full year, a figure that would easily set a new record.

Flows Stay Strong Despite Market Drop

Flows were broad-based across asset classes. U.S. fixed income ETFs led the way with $40.1 billion of inflows, followed by $38.9 billion into U.S. equity ETFs and $32.3 billion into international equity ETFs. Commodities ETFs were the lone area of weakness, losing $11.9 billion.

What makes the strength of these flows notable is the backdrop. March was a rough month for markets, with U.S. stocks falling about 5% and international equities dropping closer to 8%. Rather than pulling back, investors continued to add money, reinforcing the idea that ETFs remain the default vehicle for deploying capital, even during periods of volatility.

Fee Wars Shake Leaderboard

One of the biggest surprises came from the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM), which pulled in $15.8 billion during the month. That surge pushed it to the top of the year-to-date inflow leaderboard with $26 billion, ahead of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), which has gathered $22.2 billion so far this year.

The shift highlights how even small fee differences can matter. SPYM charges 0.02%, compared with 0.03% for both VOO and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). The gap is small, but meaningful for some investors. 

Despite the strong flows, SPYM remains much smaller than its peers, with $114.3 billion in assets versus $791 billion for VOO.

Cash-like ETFs also continued to see strong demand. The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) brought in $8.5 billion, maintaining its position as a preferred parking place for short-term cash. The SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) was not far behind with $6.7 billion of inflows.

Elsewhere, the iShares Large Cap Core Active ETF (BLCR) gathered $4 billion, while the iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (EFG) added $4.8 billion, pointing to continued interest in both active strategies and international stocks.

Tech and Gold See Outflows

On the other side of the ledger, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) saw $11.1 billion of outflows during the month, a reminder that even the largest and most popular ETFs can experience significant short-term swings in flows.

The iShares S&P 100 ETF (OEF) also saw heavy redemptions of $9.6 billion. Mega-cap stocks have lagged their smaller counterparts this year, with OEF down 7% through the end of the first quarter compared with a 4.4% decline for the broader S&P 500. That relative weakness likely contributed to the outflows, even though performance was more in line with the broader market during March itself.

Gold ETFs were another area of notable weakness. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) lost $8.5 billion, while the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) shed $3.7 billion. Gold prices fell more than 11% during the month as investors took profits, even amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict.

Technology-focused funds also saw redemptions. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) lost $3.1 billion, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) shed $2.6 billion, and the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) saw $2.4 billion in outflows.

For a full list of the top inflows and outflows for March and 2026 as a whole, see the tables below: