The latest monthly review found exchange-traded funds (ETF) gained $5.8 billion, beating the previous record high of $4.6 billion set in January and coming in at more than double the previous month when flows stood at $2.6 billion.
July’s inflows bring total ETF funds under management to $289.2 billion, up from $246 billion at the end of 2024.
International equity ETFs, particularly those focused on the US, saw the greatest proportion of flows during the month at $2.8 billion, followed by fixed income at $1.3 billion.
The top three funds to see inflows were all offered by Vanguard: Australian Shares Index ETF ($305 million), Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF ($290 million) and MSCI Index International Shares ETF ($279 million).
Overall Vanguard flows now stand at more than $9 billion since the start of the year, representing a third of the total industry funds under management, followed by Betashares at $6.9 billion, and iShares at $3.8 billion.
Outflows were concentrated in Australian equity ETFs with the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF losing $88 million, SPDR S&P/ASX 200 losing $52 million, SPDR S&P/ASX 50 losing $21 million and Betashares Australian Financial Sector ETF losing $17 million.
Australian equity ETFs gained less than $1 billion during the month at $962 million.
Looking at performance, three of the top five funds were focused on Ethereum with the Monochrome Ethereum ETF, Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF and Betashares Ethereum ETF all returning more than 50 per cent during the month.
“The rally was supported by renewed investor confidence following the passage of the GENIUS Act in the US, which provided long-awaited regulatory clarity around stablecoins and digital asset infrastructure. Interest in Ethereum continues to grow as it plays a foundational role in tokenisation, decentralised finance and the broader Web3 financial ecosystem,” Global X said.
On a year-to-date perspective, defence ETFs have seen the best returns with Global X Defence Tech ETF, VanEck Global Defence ETF and Betashares Global Defence ETF all returning more than 44 per cent since the start of the year.
“Defence ETFs have continued their strong momentum in 2025, fuelled by escalating global tensions and substantial increases in defence budgets, with ETFs focused specifically on defence technology up over 58 per cent so far this year.”
Earlier this month, Betashares announced it has partnered with US fund manager Cliffwater to form a private capital division.
This would be aimed at offering institutional-grade private market investment solutions to Australian wholesale investors, financial advisers and their clients.
The formation of the private credit arm comes off the back of increased demand from investors and advisers alike due to its potential to complement diversified portfolios of equities and bonds while offering compelling risk-adjusted returns.
The new fund will first be available in Australia as an unlisted offering via platforms for financial advisers and to wholesale clients through Betashares Direct.
