The Weekly ETF Market Monitor (August 17-21, 2026)

Equity Flows

Sector flows were mixed. Energy led inflows with $416.3 million, followed by Health Care at $220.0 million. At the other end, Financials recorded the largest sector outflow at $2.31 billion, while Information Technology lost $833.2 million and Consumer Discretionary shed $632.6 million.

Geographically, U.S.-focused ETFs dominated with $19.05 billion of inflows. World ETFs attracted $1.90 billion, Developed Markets $1.53 billion and Emerging Markets $1.47 billion. Brazil recorded the largest highlighted geographic outflow at $463.5 million.

Fixed Income, Commodities and Crypto

Government Investment Grade ETFs led fixed income flows with $7.08 billion, followed by Aggregate Investment Grade at $2.62 billion and Corporate Investment Grade at $2.26 billion. Corporate High Yield stood out with $884.9 million of outflows.

Gold dominated commodity flows with $4.37 billion of inflows, while Bitcoin led cryptocurrency products with $1.64 billion, followed by Ether at $547.8 million. Among thematic ETFs, Cryptocurrency attracted $2.41 billion, Artificial Intelligence gathered $386.6 million and Electrification added $261.4 million.

ETF Issuers

Vanguard led issuer flows with $12.82 billion, followed by State Street Investment Management with $8.91 billion and iShares with $6.07 billion. American Century Investments and Fidelity also recorded sizeable inflows of $3.17 billion and $2.61 billion, respectively. On the outflow side, VanEck recorded the largest withdrawal at $1.04 billion, while Hartford Funds and Invesco saw outflows of $96.4 million and $80.0 million.

Most and Least Popular ETFs

The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) led individual ETF inflows with $7.64 billion, followed by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) at $4.28 billion and State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) at $3.43 billion. Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF (AVLV) attracted $2.40 billion, while Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) gathered $2.14 billion.

The largest outflow came from the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) at $1.73 billion, followed by the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) at $1.68 billion and Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) at $1.58 billion. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) lost $1.07 billion, while iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) recorded $961.9 million of outflows.

Top and Bottom Performers

Cryptocurrency ETFs occupied the top of the weekly performance ranking. Bitwise XRP ETF (XRP) and Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ) both gained 37.65%, followed by 21shares XRP ETF (TOXR) at 37.64%, Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) at 37.62% and XRP ETF (XRPI) at 37.41%.

At the bottom, Roundhill Neocloud ETF (NCLD) fell 14.03%, followed by Arm Holdings PLC ADRhedged (ARMH) at -13.34% and Tuttle Capital Pure Play Photonics ETF (FOTO) at -11.61%. Invesco DWA Technology Momentum ETF (PTF) declined 9.98%, while Defiance China Robotics ETF (CROB) fell 9.53%.

About Trackinsight

Trackinsight is a global ETF data, analytics, research, and advisory firm serving professional investors, financial advisors, and institutions. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Biot, France, the company operates across six countries and serves thousands of investment professionals. Since 2024, Trackinsight has been majority-owned by Kepler Cheuvreux and is part of ETF One, its integrated platform combining ETF Data Services, Research & Advisory, and Execution.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.