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U.S. ETFs took in a record $1.50 trillion in net inflows in 2025, according to ETFGI’s January 19, 2026 report, up from $1.17 trillion in 2024. That was the 44th straight month of net inflows. Every one of those dollars came from an allocator who decided to buy, add to, or switch into a fund.
For an ETF sales team, the headline number matters less than the question behind it: who moved the money, and where did it go? Flows are the clearest signal of where demand is building, which products are losing ground, and which allocators are changing their minds right now.
In this article, we’ll explain what ETF flows are, the difference between fund-level and holder-level flows, how to read them without being misled, and how sales teams turn flow data into better-timed conversations.
What Are ETF Flows?
ETF flows measure the net amount of new money moving into or out of a fund over a set period. When investors buy more shares than they sell, authorized participants create new shares and the fund records an inflow. When selling outweighs buying, shares are redeemed and the fund records an outflow.
Flows are different from performance. A fund’s assets can grow because its holdings went up in price, even if nobody added a dollar. Flows strip out market movement and show only the decisions investors made, which is why sales teams watch them closely.
The scale of those decisions is large. In 2025, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) alone gathered $137.7 billion in net inflows, according to FactSet data reported by etf.com, nearly twice the $73.0 billion that went into the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV).
Fund-Level Flows vs. Holder-Level Flows
Most published flow data answers one question: how much money went into a fund or category. That is useful for spotting trends, but it does not tell a sales team who to call. Holder-level flows fill that gap by showing how individual allocators changed their positions.
Fund-level flows track net money into or out of a fund or category. They come from issuer share creations and redemptions, update daily, and answer the question “where is demand building?” They are best for market sizing, product strategy and spotting category trends.
Holder-level flows track how a specific allocator’s position changed. They come from quarterly 13F filings, which are filed up to 45 days after quarter end, and answer the question “who is buying, adding, trimming or exiting?” They are best for prospecting, call prep and territory planning.
Institutions managing more than $100 million in U.S. securities must disclose their long positions within 45 days after each quarter ends. Those filings cover RIAs, pensions, endowments, family offices, banks, insurers and hedge funds, which makes 13F data the most direct public view of who owns which ETFs.
Where ETF Money Went in 2025
The 2025 numbers show that flows were not spread evenly. Equity ETFs took in $656.95 billion, and actively managed ETFs gathered $514.56 billion, up from $313.70 billion in 2024, according to ETFGI. FactSet data reported by etf.com shows U.S. fixed income ETFs added $330.6 billion.
Market share is just as concentrated. iShares held 29.7% of U.S. ETF assets at the end of 2025, Vanguard held 28.7% and State Street SPDR held 13.7%, out of 4,883 products from 460 providers. For the hundreds of smaller issuers, that means most growth has to come from taking share, one allocator at a time.
Why Sales Teams Should Track ETF Flows
Flows show where demand is building
Category flows tell you which conversations are getting easier. If active ETFs are gathering record assets, allocators are more open to an active pitch than they were two years ago. If short-term Treasury funds are taking in billions, cash-like products are top of mind for advisors and their clients.
Holder-level moves tell you who to call
A firm that opened a new position in your sub-asset class last quarter has already decided the exposure belongs in its portfolio. A firm that increased its position is adding conviction. Both are warmer conversations than a firm that has never owned the category, which is why RIAs already invested in your asset class make the best starting list.
Outflows from a competitor are an opening
When an allocator trims or closes a position in a competing fund, it is often rethinking that sleeve. That is the moment to show up with a lower fee, a different approach or a better fit. Watching decreases and closed positions on competitor tickers turns market noise into a short list of switch opportunities.
Flow data makes outreach better timed
Cold calling still drives the most meetings for ETF wholesalers. Flow data does not replace it; it tells you which calls to make first and what to open with. A call that starts with “You added to your international small cap exposure last quarter” lands differently than a generic introduction.
See which allocators opened, added to or closed positions in your ETF category last quarter. Dakota Holdings tags every 13F ETF position by asset class, sub-asset class and quarter-over-quarter status, book a demo for access.
What a Holder-Level Flow Looks Like in Practice
Creative Planning, one of the largest RIAs in the country, shows how much a single filer’s quarterly moves can reveal. Between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, Dakota’s holding data shows its largest ETF dollar changes, based on matched 13F value.
Its five biggest additions were the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV), up $874 million; the SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF (SPDW), up $552 million; the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG), up $357 million; the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), up $329 million; and the Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (AVDV), up $309 million.
Its five biggest reductions were the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (VV), down $181 million; the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX), down $146 million; the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), down $133 million; the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), down $71 million; and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), down $60 million.
Read together, the moves tell a clear story. Creative Planning sold down several overlapping large-cap ETFs and moved the proceeds into bonds, international equities and its active small-cap sleeve. That is consolidation, not an exit from U.S. equities.
For a large-cap issuer, that is a warning sign worth a call. For a short-duration bond issuer or an international equity manager, it is evidence that this allocator is building exactly the exposure they offer.
The longer history matters too. Creative Planning’s AVDV position grew from $1.01 billion in Q1 2025 to $2.37 billion in Q1 2026, rising every quarter along the way. One quarter can be noise; five quarters in the same direction is a commitment.
How to Read ETF Flows Without Getting Misled
Holder-level flow data is powerful, but a few habits keep it accurate:
- Separate price from buying. A position’s dollar value can rise simply because the market did. Look at whether the allocator actually added shares before treating a bigger number as new conviction.
- Remember the filing lag. 13F filings arrive up to 45 days after quarter end, so they show what an allocator did, not what it is doing today. Use them to open the conversation, then confirm current thinking on the call.
- Watch for M&A. Acquisitive RIAs absorb other firms’ books. A sudden jump in a position may reflect an acquisition rather than a new investment decision.
- Combine filing entities. Large firms can file under more than one entity. Looking at only one can understate or overstate what the firm actually holds.
- Look for direction over time. A single quarter can reflect rebalancing. Two or three quarters moving the same way is a stronger signal.
How Dakota Holdings Tracks ETF Flows
Dakota maps nearly 940,000 line-level 13F ETF holdings across RIAs, broker-dealers, banks, family offices, consultants, pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, OCIOs and wealth management platforms. Filings are ingested daily instead of waiting on a quarterly snapshot.
Each position is tagged across 19 asset classes and 236 sub-asset classes, marked active or passive, and assigned a quarter-over-quarter holding status so sales teams can see which allocators opened, increased, decreased or closed a position. Every holding keeps its full filing history, so a trend like the AVDV example above is visible at a glance.
From there, the filer is matched to its firm record, its Form ADV profile and the decision-makers to contact. Teams can filter by asset class, sub-asset class, issuer, active or passive management, and filing period, then send the list straight into Salesforce, HubSpot, Backstop or DealCloud. That turns a flow signal into a call list your team can work the same day, whether you’re tracking how RIAs use ETFs across a territory or watching the most widely held ETFs among RIAs for signs of rotation.
Find the Allocators Moving Money in Your Category
Dakota Holdings tracks nearly 940,000 13F ETF holdings, tagged by asset class, sub-asset class and quarterly holding status, and connected to the contacts who make the decisions. Filter by sub-asset class, issuer, active or passive, and filing period to see exactly who is adding to your category and who is pulling back from your competitors. Know who is moving before you pick up the phone.
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