Amundi’s note on ETF data covering July-August 2026 reveals that asset collection in the European-domiciled UCITS ETF market in 2026 is tracking well ahead of prior-year levels following a record month in July (EUR49.4 billion) and a strong August (EUR43billion).
In equities, there was a rotation into the US in August (EUR9.2 billion) while global exposures including all country world (EUR9.2 billion) and developed market world (EUR9.1 billion) added significant inflows, the firm writes.
“There was a divergence in fixed income in the month, with investors preferring all-maturity in European bonds versus shorter-dated US exposures.
“Gold ETPs were back in demand, adding EUR6.3 billion in August. This brings year-to-date gold ETP inflows to EUR8.1 billion, ahead of full-year 2026’s EUR6.6 billion.”
UCITS ETF flows
The summer months proved to be a strong period for European-domiciled UCITS ETFs as investors allocated a record EUR49.4 billion to the market in July, while the momentum continued in August with new inflows of EUR43 billion, Amundi writes.
“Asset collection in 2026 is tracking well ahead of prior-year levels with a record overall year potentially in the offing. This comes despite higher volatility over the summer. But this did little to interrupt allocations, with equity ETF flows leading the way at EUR35.4 billion.”
Investors showed a clear preference for diversification in equities, the firm writes.
“There was little to split between US equity inflows, all country world (ACWI) and world developed market (DM) world, all of which added more than EUR9 billion in August. European equities rebounded, recording new inflows of EUR4.5 billion.
“Investors allocated EUR7.2 billion to fixed income. Government bonds accounted for almost half of that at more than EUR3 billion, followed by investment grade corporate debt at EUR1.7 billion and money market strategies at EUR1.2 billion.”
Equities
Investor positioning in equities was shaped by two broad themes: rotation into the US and diversification through global exposures, the firm writes.
“US equities, with NNA at EUR9.2bn, extended the momentum it has generated since the market recovery in the second quarter. The clearest sector rotation in August was into information technology (IT). After being the second-largest sector allocation in July, IT flows more than doubled in August, rising to just over EUR2 billion. That suggests investors are still reluctant to miss out on the market’s strongest growth theme, despite talk of an AI bubble and stretched valuations.”
Besides US equities, the top equity inflows were balanced between ACWI with NNA of EUR9.2 billion and DM world at EUR9.1 billion. This highlights how investors are building broader, more diversified equity exposure, the firm says.
“After a strong start to the year, European flows stalled and even turned negative during the spring, as investors reacted to geopolitical shocks and concerns around the energy and inflation outlook. Since June, however, that trend has reversed, and there has been a progressive reallocation into the region. In August, European equity ETFs gathered EUR4.5 billion, roughly double July’s level.
“Emerging markets (EM) were in positive territory with NNA of EUR2.6 billion in August, despite concerns about AI-related concentration risk, particularly in EM Asia and South Korea.
“Within style and sector flows, smart beta continued to show strong demand, especially strategies focused on income generation, which gained EUR2.3bn. That has become a recurring feature across market conditions, with investors still looking for yield pickup wherever they can find it. Equal weight strategies were also in demand, though the pace was lower than in July.
“Rising gold prices supported a clear pickup in demand in August, both via gold ETPs and through listed equities linked to the precious metal, such as gold miners. This was a more niche but still meaningful sign that investors could be seeking hedges alongside risk assets.”
Fixed income
The strongest theme in fixed income was a clear preference for government bonds, which added EUR3.2 billion in August, of which around half was allocated to US Treasuries.
Investors increasingly favoured short-duration and ultrashort-duration exposures in the US, reflecting a more defensive stance amid continued uncertainty around inflation, rate policy and Treasury supply dynamics, Amundi writes.
“Concerns over higher government issuance, the future path of policy rates, and competing bond issuance from large technology and AI-linked companies all contributed to a less supportive technical picture for Treasuries.
“In Europe, the pattern was different. Rather than a fresh defensive rush into short-dated debt, investors appeared to be re-weighting back toward all-maturity government exposures, effectively neutralising positions after the heavy sell-off earlier in the year. All-maturity Euro govies gained EUR266m in NNA in the month.
“Corporate debt net inflows came in at EUR1.7 billion in August. The approach investors took was similar to government bond allocations, with all-maturity preferred in European corporate debt at EUR721 million and short-term ahead in the US market at EUR126 million.
“Investors are still looking for high income, which was reflected by money market strategies adding EUR1.2 billion in the month.
“Flows into inflation-linked strategies dropped from more than EUR700 million in July to roughly EUR209 million in August, but inflation protection clearly remains on the radar.”
ESG
ESG flows were positive in the month, with NNA rising to around EUR8.3 billion in August.
“The pattern of demand was broadly similar to the mainstream market, especially on the equity side, which suggests ESG participation is being driven by the same underlying investor preferences rather than a separate trend.
“In ESG flows, investors showed the strongest interest in low tracking and climate transition approaches. In ESG equities, which added EUR7.2 billion in August, the allocation share appears to be rising.
“Equity strategies now account for roughly 15 per cent to 20 per cent of ESG flows, up from a previous range closer to 10 per cent to 15 per cent. That indicates growing investor comfort with using ESG equity exposures as part of broader portfolio construction, rather than treating them as a niche satellite allocation.
Investors allocated EUR1.1 billion to ESG fixed income, as demand remained concentrated in IG corporate debt, which recorded NNA in the month of EUR939 million.
That continues to be the clearest area of investor preference within sustainable bond allocation.
Gold
Gold prices recovered sharply in August (~USD4,600/oz). Earlier this year, a hawkish US Federal Reserve together with elevated real yields weighed on the metal, Amundi writes.
“More recently, however, the US Treasury’s decision to expand its long-dated bond buyback programme has helped push yields lower and weaken the dollar, providing support for gold.
And the broader backdrop remains constructive: fiscal stress, reserve diversification, de-dollarisation, steady central bank buying and now investment demand could continue to support the market.
“In addition to the flows into gold miners, gold ETPs have attracted investor interest, adding EUR6.3 billion in August. This brings year-to-date gold ETP inflows to EUR8.1 billion, ahead of full year 2025’s EUR6.6 billion.”
