The global exchange-traded fund and product industry (ETFs/ETPs) collected US$20.8 billion in new assets in August, according to the latest data from London, U.K.-based research firm ETFGI.

Through the first eight months of the year, global ETFs/ETPs have enjoyed record net flows of US$219.7 billion, which is up by about 16% from the same period in 2014, the firm announced on Tuesday.

Record net inflows for the first eight months of the year were set in the U.S., Europe, and Japan this year.

In August, these net inflows came against the background of increased market volatility and heightened worries about the health of the global economy. “Worries about China’s stock market, currency and economy mixed with falling commodity prices helped to cause a correction in the U.S. stock market. The S&P 500 index ended August down 6%,” says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI, in a statement.

In this environment, fixed income ETFs led the way with US$8.8 billion in net inflows, another US$2.4 billion went into equity products, and commodity ETFs/ETPs attracted US$1.5 billion. However, in the year to date period, equity ETFs/ETPs are still leading the way with net inflows of US$139.3 billion, followed by fixed income at US$52.8 billion, and commodity ETFs/ETPs with US$3.7 billion.

In total, the global ETF/ETP industry now has 5,926 products in the market, representing US$2.86 trillion in assets, ETFGI reports.

By issuer, Vanguard was the top performer in August, attracting monthly net inflows of US$4.7 billion, followed by DB x-trackers at US$3.4 billion, and Nomura AM with US$3.1 billion. For the year however, iShares is the industry leader with net inflows of US$63.4 billion, followed by Vanguard at US$54.9 billion, and DB x-trackers with US$25.2 billion.