Australians poured a record $6.8 billion into ETFs in July, a record month for Australia's ETF industry.
Investors put $6.8 billion into ETFs during the month of July, the highest monthly inflow on record, taking total ETF inflows for 2026 to approximately $36.5 billion. At that pace, the market is on track to surpass last year's record $53 billion of inflows.
The biggest flows went into global and Australian shares, while income-producing investments continued to attract strong demand. Investors also returned to gold following its recent pullback, while infrastructure and smart beta strategies recorded particularly strong inflows.
Global shares lead the way
Global shares were the most popular broad investment category in July, attracting $896 million in net inflows.
US shares were also popular, attracting a further $502 million. Overall, global equity ETFs attracted a record $3.6 billion during the month, accounting for more than 52% of all ETF flows.
Australian shares remained an important part of portfolios, with broad Australian equity ETFs attracting $809 million.
The flow data suggests investors continued to use ETFs to gain exposure to international markets, alongside their allocations to Australian shares. The report points to diversification and access to sectors and companies that are less represented in the domestic market as factors behind the demand for global equities.
Income remains a major focus
Investors continued to put significant amounts of money into income-producing ETFs in July. Income ETFs attracted $1.8 billion during the month, excluding cash ETFs. That represented almost one-third of all ETF flows.
But the demand was broader than traditional equity income strategies. Bond ETFs attracted a record $1.4 billion, including $428 million into Australian diversified fixed income. Global bond ETFs also recorded their strongest month on record, attracting $537 million.
Infrastructure ETFs attracted another record $488 million.
Together, the flows show investors were looking across a wider range of assets for income, including bonds and infrastructure as well as dividend and covered-call strategies.
Gold investors buy the dip
After gold-related ETFs experienced record outflows in June, Australian investors put a combined $334 million into gold bullion and gold miners ETFs in July. That made it the fourth-strongest month on record for the category.
Within Global X's gold range, GOLD, GXLD and GHLD attracted a combined $184 million during the month. GOLD accounted for $108 million, followed by GXLD with $48 million and GHLD with $28 million.
Silver also attracted new money, with ETPMAG recording $26 million of inflows despite weakness in the price of silver.
Smart beta steps into the spotlight
Smart beta ETFs recorded their strongest month on record in July, attracting $878 million in net inflows.
Size-focused strategies were the biggest beneficiary, attracting $313 million, or 35.6% of smart beta flows. Yield strategies attracted $203 million, quality $172 million and value $131 million.
The demand for size was also evident in global small and mid-cap equities, with SMID ETFs attracting a record $286 million.
Investors look beyond technology
Technology and AI remained important themes, but July's flows also showed demand for the infrastructure supporting the broader investment cycle.
Infrastructure ETFs attracted a record $488 million as investors sought exposure to income-generating assets and companies that could benefit from increased investment associated with AI and broader capital expenditure.
Within Global X's range, the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure ETF (AINF) recorded its 29th consecutive week of inflows. The US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) also continued to attract investors.
At the same time, some technology-related investments experienced significant volatility. The Global X Semiconductor ETF (SEMI), for example, fell 20.7% in July following a strong run earlier in the year. The report attributes the decline to profit-taking in AI beneficiaries, the unwinding of leveraged positions in Korea and concerns around increasing Chinese competition.
What investors moved away from
The strongest inflows were accompanied by outflows from several areas.
Cash and money market ETFs recorded the largest category outflow, with $85 million leaving during July. Australian resources ETFs lost $75 million, while Australian technology and financials ETFs each recorded $40 million of outflows. Asian equity ETFs also experienced $59 million of outflows.
The movement out of cash may reflect investors putting money back to work, while the Asian equity outflows may partly reflect profit-taking after strong performance.
What July tells us
The July flow data shows Australian investors spreading their ETF allocations across a broad range of markets and strategies.
Global equities attracted record inflows, Australian shares remained popular, and income strategies drew significant demand across equities, bonds and infrastructure. Gold also attracted substantial new investment following its recent pullback, while smart beta strategies recorded their strongest month on record.
With $36.5 billion already flowing into Australian ETFs this year, 2026 is shaping up to be another record year for the industry.
For investors, the July data provides a useful snapshot of where money is moving, but flows are not a recommendation to buy or sell any particular investment. They simply show where Australian investors allocated capital during the month.
