European-domiciled UCITS ETFs had one of their strongest summers on record, according to Amundi 's latest Monthly Flows study. Investors added €49.4bn in net new assets in July, a record month for the market, and followed that with a further €43bn in August. Taken together, the two months confirm that 2026 is tracking well ahead of prior years, with a record full year now a real possibility despite a summer marked by higher volatility.
Equities Lead the Way
Equity ETFs were the main driver of the summer rally, gathering €35.4bn in August alone. Amundi 's data point to two broad themes shaping Investor behaviour: a rotation toward the United States, and a parallel push toward diversification through global exposures.
US equity ETFs took in €9.2bn in August, extending a run of momentum that began with the market's recovery in the second quarter. The clearest shift within that flow was sectoral: information technology, already the second-largest sector allocation in July, saw inflows more than double to just over €2bn in August. That suggests investors remain unwilling to sit out the market's strongest growth theme, even as talk of an AI bubble and stretched valuations persists.
Global exposures matched the pace of US-only flows. All Country World Index (ACWI) strategies drew €9.2bn and world developed market (DM) strategies €9.1bn, underlining that investors are building broader equity exposure rather than concentrating purely on the US.
European equities also staged a comeback. After stalling and turning negative during the spring, as geopolitical shocks and concerns over energy and inflation weighed on sentiment, the region has seen a Progressive reallocation since June. European equity ETFs gathered €4.5bn in August, roughly double July's Total Fina Elf . Emerging market ETFs added €2.6bn, despite lingering concerns about AI-related concentration risk in EM Asia and South Korea. Within style strategies, smart beta funds focused on income generation continued to draw strong demand, adding €2.3bn, while equal-weight strategies remained in demand, though at a slower pace than in July.
Fixed Income: A Transatlantic Divide
Fixed income ETFs attracted €7.2bn in August, but the Amundi study highlights a clear divergence between the US and Europe. Government bonds accounted for almost half of that Total Fina Elf , at just over €3bn, with roughly half of it directed to US Treasuries.
In the US, investors leaned toward short and ultra-short duration exposures, a defensive stance reflecting continued uncertainty over inflation, rate policy, and Treasury supply. Rising government issuance, the uncertain path of policy rates, and competing bond issuance from large technology and AI-linked companies all weighed on the technical picture for Treasuries.
European investors took the opposite approach, re-weighting toward all-maturity government bond exposures rather than seeking further defensive positioning, effectively unwinding the impact of an earlier sell-off. All-maturity euro government bonds added €266m in net new assets. A similar pattern showed up in corporate debt, where all-maturity strategies led in Europe at €721m, while short-term exposures led in the US at €126m; Total Fina Elf corporate debt inflows reached €1.7bn. Money market strategies added €1.2bn, as investors continued to seek income wherever they could find it, while flows into inflation-linked strategies eased to roughly €209m, down from more than €700m in July.
ESG and Gold Round Out the Picture
ESG ETFs took in around €8.3bn in August, with the pattern of demand closely mirroring the broader market, particularly in equities. Amundi notes the strongest interest was in low-tracking and climate transition approaches. ESG equities added €7.2bn, and now account for roughly 15% to 20% of Total Fina Elf ESG flows, up from a previous range of 10% to 15%, a sign that investors are increasingly comfortable treating ESG equity exposure as a core building block rather than a niche allocation. ESG fixed income drew €1.1bn, concentrated in investment grade corporate debt, which remains the clearest area of Investor preference within sustainable bond allocation.
Gold, meanwhile, benefited from a sharp price recovery to around $4,600 per ounce in August. After a hawkish US Federal Reserve and elevated real yields had weighed on the metal earlier in the year, the US Treasury's decision to expand its long-dated bond buyback programme helped push yields lower and weaken the dollar, providing renewed support. Fiscal stress, reserve diversification, de-dollarisation, and steady central bank buying continue to underpin the broader case for gold. Gold ETPs alone added €6.3bn in August, bringing year-to-date inflows to €8.1bn, already ahead of the €6.6bn recorded for the whole of 2025.
