Both mutual funds and ETFs set new records for total assets under management (AUM) in January, according to a Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA) report published Monday.
Mutual fund AUM reached an all-time high of $2.6 trillion at the end of the month, up by $35 billion or 1.4% from December, when a dip in assets occurred, the data showed.
On an annual basis, mutual fund AUM grew by 10.9%, up $252 billion from $2.3 trillion at the end of January 2025.
Mutual funds posted net sales of $5.7 billion in January, which was the highest monthly sales amount recorded for the products since February 2025, SIMA noted.
Bond mutual funds drove the gains, with $4.2 billion in net sales, followed by balanced funds at $1.5 billion and specialty funds at $1.4 billion.
On the other hand, equity mutual funds and money-market mutual funds were in negative sales territory, recording $588 and $742 million in net redemptions, respectively.
ETF assets hit their highest ever level too, coming in at $743.8 billion at the end of January. This marked a $30.8 billion or 4.3% increase from the previous month.
By comparison, ETF AUM hit $541.2 billion by the end of January 2025. This means ETF assets grew by $202.6 billion or 37.4% on an year-over-year basis.
ETF net sales set a new monthly record, with $20.8 gathered in January, “surpassing the previous record set just last month,” the report said.
Equity ETFs dominated net sales, receiving $13.3 billion in net inflows.
Bond ETFs posted net sales of $4 billion, followed by specialty ETFs at $2 billion and balanced ETFs at $1.6 billion.
Meanwhile, money-market ETFs bled out, recording $88 million in net outflows for the month.