Release: Trends in Mutual Fund Investing, August 2026
Trends in Mutual Fund Investing
August 2026
Washington, DC; September 29, 2026—The combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds increased by $445.66 billion, or 1.4 percent, to $33.29 trillion in August, according to the Investment Company Institute’s official survey of the mutual fund industry. In the survey, mutual fund companies report actual assets, sales, and redemptions to ICI.
Total Net Assets of Mutual Funds*
Billions of dollars
| Aug 2026 | Jul 2026 | % change | Aug 2025 | |
| Total long-term | 25,363.4 | 24,989.1 | 1.5 | 22,980.3 |
|
Equity |
17,802.5 | 17,482.6 | 1.8 | 15,954.0 |
|
Domestic equity |
13,550.7 | 13,462.4 | 0.7 | 12,418.1 |
|
World equity |
4,251.8 | 4,020.2 | 5.8 | 3,535.8 |
|
Hybrid |
1,844.2 | 1,824.7 | 1.1 | 1,699.0 |
|
Bond |
5,716.7 | 5,681.7 | 0.6 | 5,327.4 |
|
Taxable bond |
4,844.3 | 4,811.1 | 0.7 | 4,525.5 |
|
Municipal bond |
872.4 | 870.7 | 0.2 | 801.9 |
| Total money market | 7,928.0 | 7,856.7 | 0.9 | 7,216.2 |
|
Taxable money market |
7,778.5 | 7,707.0 | 0.9 | 7,079.9 |
|
Tax-exempt money market |
149.4 | 149.7 | -0.2 | 136.3 |
| Total | 33,291.4 | 32,845.7 | 1.4 | 30,196.5 |
* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.
Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.
Net New Cash Flow of Mutual Funds*
Millions of dollars
| Aug 2026 | Jul 2026 | Jan–Aug 2026 | Jan–Aug 2025 | |
| Total long-term | -94,199 | -94,757 | -573,280 | -824,862 |
|
Equity |
-104,514 | -102,766 | -690,590 | -795,390 |
|
Domestic equity |
-85,974 | -70,654 | -539,961 | -681,272 |
|
World equity |
-18,539 | -32,112 | -150,629 | -114,117 |
|
Hybrid |
-7,145 | -6,841 | -57,066 | -67,990 |
|
Bond |
17,459 | 14,850 | 174,376 | 38,518 |
|
Taxable bond |
14,283 | 10,944 | 139,726 | 29,943 |
|
Municipal bond |
3,176 | 3,907 | 34,650 | 8,575 |
| Total money market | 55,483 | -57,358 | 42,361 | 219,914 |
|
Taxable money market |
55,993 | -57,913 | 45,906 | 221,784 |
|
Tax-exempt money market |
-510 | 555 | -3,544 | -1,870 |
| Total | -38,716 | -152,115 | -530,919 | -604,948 |
* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.
Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.
Highlights: Long-term funds—equity, hybrid, and bond funds—had a net outflow of $94.20 billion in August, versus an outflow of $94.76 billion in July.
Equity funds posted an outflow of $104.51 billion in August, compared with an outflow of $102.77 billion in July. Among equity funds, world equity funds (U.S. funds that invest primarily overseas) posted an outflow of $18.54 billion in August, versus an outflow of $32.11 billion in July. Funds that invest primarily in the United States had an outflow of $85.97 billion in August, versus an outflow of $70.65 billion in July. The liquidity ratio of equity funds (the percentage of liquid assets over total net assets) was 1.5 percent in August, unchanged from July.
Hybrid funds posted an outflow of $7.14 billion in August, compared with an outflow of $6.84 billion in July.
Bond funds had an inflow of $17.46 billion in August, compared with an inflow of $14.85 billion in July. Taxable bond funds had an inflow of $14.28 billion in August, versus an inflow of $10.94 billion in July. Municipal bond funds had an inflow of $3.18 billion in August, compared with an inflow of $3.91 billion in July.
Money market funds had an inflow of $55.48 billion in August, compared with an outflow of $57.36 billion in July. In August funds offered primarily to institutions had an inflow of $37.31 billion and funds offered primarily to individuals had an inflow of $18.17 billion.
Number of Mutual Funds
| Aug 2026 | Jul 2026 | Aug 2025 | |
| Total long-term | 6,368 | 6,384 | 6,609 |
|
Equity |
3,902 | 3,914 | 4,070 |
|
Domestic equity |
2,672 | 2,683 | 2,771 |
|
World equity |
1,230 | 1,231 | 1,299 |
|
Hybrid |
595 | 595 | 609 |
|
Bond |
1,871 | 1,875 | 1,930 |
|
Taxable bond |
1,404 | 1,407 | 1,434 |
|
Municipal bond |
467 | 468 | 496 |
| Total money market | 268 | 268 | 260 |
|
Taxable money market |
229 | 229 | 221 |
|
Tax-exempt money market |
39 | 39 | 39 |
| Total | 6,636 | 6,652 | 6,869 |
* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.
About ICI’s Data
Data for prior dates reflect revisions due to data adjustments, reclassifications, and changes in the number of funds reporting. For more information about ICI data and classifications, please visit our FAQs.
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