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A view of the estimated net flows in the European ETF industry shows that European investors seem to be in a positive mood since the estimated net flows for May 2025 (€27.0 bn) were up over the flows for April (€17.7 bn). Obviously, the April numbers were expected to be low since there was a lot of market turmoil around the possible new tariff regime in the U.S. and its impact on the growth expectations globally.

Graph 1: Monthly Estimated Net Flows in the European ETF Industry (in bn EUR)

Source: LSEG Lipper

That said, there was also some turbulence during the earnings season in May because of expectations of future moves by central banks in the different economic regions. This was especially true with regard to the bond markets, as there are some tensions in U.S. and Japanese bond markets.

As for the other month of the year so far, equity ETFs (+€19.0 bn) were by far the best-selling asset type for the month. Bond ETFs (+€7.3 bn) were the second best-selling asset type, despite the somewhat tensed situation on the bond markets. With regard to this, it is worthwhile to mention that no asset type faced estimated net outflows for the year 2025 so far.

More generally speaking, taking the estimated net flows for May into account, the European ETF industry is on the way to reach a new record for estimated net inflows at the end of the year if the current trend continues. In more detail, the European ETF industry enjoyed estimated net flows of €132.0 bn for the first five months of the year, which means the industry could reach estimated net inflows between €310.0 bn and €325.0 bn over the course of 2025 if the current fund flows trend in the European ETF industry continues.

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