The start of 2026 has brought no shortage of challenges for advisors, ranging from shifting rate expectations to valuation concerns in a top-heavy market. Nonetheless, ETFs gathered an impressive $165 billion of new money in January, more than the previous three Januaries combined, according to State Street Investment Management.
At VettaFi, we’ve been using our data to see exactly where the investment community is focusing its attention, and the results from our ETF-focused websites provide some interesting insights. Based on the most-viewed articles by advisors and investors across VettaFi’s ETF platforms, here are three key trends defining the early-year playbook.
See related: The $100 Billion Sprint: Decoding the Early 2026 ETF Inflows
Navigating Rates with Active Management
In January, fixed income ETFs took in a record $56 billion of net inflows. Nearly half of the flows were to actively managed products and in general there was a bias toward positioning toward the short end of the curve. On our sites, an active short term fixed income article was in high focus. Balance Portfolios by Pairing ETFs: How Short-Term Bond ETF FLTB Can Help was written by Nick Peters-Golden and was the most popular piece in January.
Peters-Golden noted that leading the charge in fixed income is the search for a balanced core that doesn’t sacrifice yield for safety. The Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF (FLTB) active approach allows it to navigate short-term debt with a duration typically between two and five years, offering a “combination of solid yields and reduced duration risk.” This flexibility is exactly what advisors are looking for when trying to offset volatility in their equity sleeves. As the article highlights, “Pairing FLTB with either or with any combination of bond ETFs can help raise or lower overall risk via the ETF wrapper.”
Managed Risk with Options Based ETFs
The murky picture of the current equity market—clouded by fiscal policy debates and geopolitical headwinds—has driven significant interest in downside protecting ETFs in the last few years. In A Laddered Strategy For 2026 Uncertainty, Nick Wodeshick wrote how many investors are “keen to hedge their bets against potential instability”.
The Calamos Laddered S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF (CPSL) provides a timely solution by laddering twelve different protection strategies to mitigate “path dependency.” The strategy’s value proposition is straightforward: “Across a one-year outcome period, each fund offers 100% downside protection against potential risks, after fees and expenses.” While this requires a cap on the upside using options, CPSL offers the staying power many clients need to remain invested during turbulent stretches.
January Shifts in a Thematic ETF Warrant Attention
Thematic ETFs gathered $4.4 billion to start 2026 and have pulled in $25 billion in the last twelve months. While many investors understand that actively managed thematic ETFs change positions, the rebalancing of an index fund also warrants scrutiny. A recent rebalance in the Amplify Video Game Leaders ETF (GAMR) caught the attention of both VettaFi and our readers.
In the article Gaming ETF GAMR Rebalance Sees Nvidia, Tencent Rise Peters-Golden detailed how the fund remains aligned with the companies truly driving the sector’s evolution into 2026. By taking a “market cap-weighted approach to its investable universe,” GAMR allows investors to capture the growth of both domestic leaders like Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia and emerging international powerhouses like Tencent and Sea Ltd.
The Expanding ETF Toolbox
The diversity of these top-viewed pieces reminds us that the ETF industry is constantly evolving to solve real-world problems. In addition to the above, our readers were digging into income diversification strategies, navigating the volatile weight loss ETF space, and exploring emerging markets. VettaFi data shows that investors are more eager than ever to look beyond traditional S&P 500 based ETFs.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETF Trends.
Originally published on ETF Trends
VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for GAMR, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, GAMR is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of GAMR.
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