Registered investment advisors entered 2026 in an expansive mood when it comes to exchange-traded funds.
A new data analysis from AdvizorPro this week shows the average RIA firm held 89.7 unique ETFs in its portfolios as of Q1 2026, up from 85.9 at the end of last year. Roughly half of the 5,304 firms tracked in both periods added net new ETFs during the quarter, while fewer than 30% trimmed their lineups.
The numbers arrive as financial advisors navigate a volatile macro backdrop marked by persistent inflation concerns, uncertain Federal Reserve policy, and escalating geopolitical tensions.
Against that backdrop, the AdvizorPro Q1 2026 Quarterly RIA ETF Holdings Report – drawn from 13F filings across firms present in both the Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 snapshots – finds advisors are intentionally building more complex portfolios.
"RIAs are no longer just increasing ETF usage," the report states. "They are refining how ETFs are used, selecting funds more intentionally, and integrating them as core building blocks of portfolio construction."
The quarterly turnover ratio across the universe averaged 12.3%, with advisors adding ETF positions at a rate of 13.7% of prior holdings against a drop rate of 9.2%. In aggregate, that produced a net gain of more than 20,000 ETF positions across the 5,304 firms analyzed. New slots are opening faster than existing ones are closing – a constructive environment for issuers with a clear distribution story, and a retention test for those already embedded in portfolios.
The clearest trend in Q1 2026 was a rotation toward real assets and away from consumer and broad-technology exposure.
Using Morningstar classifications, AdvizorPro found Equity Energy was the fastest-growing category by net new RIA count, gaining 265 advisors and growing 14% from Q4 2025 levels. Natural Resources added 145, and Commodities Broad Basket grew by 118, bringing the combined real asset gain to 528 net new RIAs across just three categories in a single quarter. That accelerates a trend within AdvizorPro's annual report on 2025 data, which showed commodities-focused ETFs leading all categories by absolute RIA growth .
Defense-oriented industrials also had a strong quarter, with the iShares U.S. Software ETF (IGV) added 108 net RIA allocators, the Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) gaining 93, State Street's SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR) adding 69, and Invesco's Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA) picking up 44.
Among individual ETFs, Akre Capital Management's actively managed ETF (AKRE) stood out as it grew from 140 RIA allocators at the end of last year to 404 by the close of Q1 2026 – a 188.6% jump in a single quarter. That fund, less than a year old at quarter end, reflects how a brand-credible active manager with a long record in a mutual fund or separate account structure can convert existing followers into a newly launched ETF.
In a BBH survey of ETF investors released in March, 66% respondents globally selected active management as their preferred approach over the next 12 months. Drawing responses from 325 institutional investors, RIAs, and wealth managers across the U.S., Europe, and Greater China in December, the report found 94% expect active ETFs to reach $10 trillion in assets within 10 years – implying roughly 20% annual growth from the approximately $2 trillion base at year-end 2025.
Deborah Fuhr, managing partner and founder of ETFGI, said a 20% growth rate for active ETFs seems realistic, and may even understate the potential given the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's September 2025 decision permitting fund managers to offer ETF share classes within mutual fund structures.
The incumbent ETF giants – iShares, State Street, Vanguard, and Invesco – each posted essentially flat or marginally declining RIA count in Q1 2026, according to the AdvizorPro data. iShares fell by nine net RIAs, State Street by 11, and Invesco by four, while Vanguard edged up by four. At that scale and level of penetration, the competitive dynamic has shifted from acquisition to retention.
Schwab, whose ETFs added 40 net RIAs for 1.3% growth, VanEck and Dimensional each posted 2.5% growth – the best in the top 10 – adding 58 and 47 net RIAs respectively. JPMorgan added 28 and WisdomTree added 26.
In a meaningful shift from 2025, AdvizorPro found the high-fee ETFs gaining the most new RIA allocators are no longer dominated by defined outcome and buffered funds.
Compared to last year's bias toward First Trust and Innovator defined outcome products, this quarter's top 10 high-fee gainers include Convergence Investment Partners' long-short equity fund CLSE, AGF's market-neutral strategy BTAL, Infrastructure Capital Advisors' preferred-stock fund PFFA, and Amplify ETFs' tactical allocation fund YYY.
"The high-fee gainers list this quarter spans long-short equity, credit-hedged income, preferred and MLP infrastructure, and option-overlay strategies. ... suggesting advisor willingness to pay for complexity is broadening," AdvizorPro noted.
Newly launched ETFs also continued to find fast adoption in Q1. Beyond Akre, First Eagle's international large-blend fund FEOE gained 49.4% in RIA count, Innovator's ZMAR defined outcome fund rose 46%, and First Trust's WCMI foreign large-growth fund climbed 40.4%. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's JIVE foreign large value ETF also gained 39.3%, adding to the evidence of international equities emerging as a priority among advisor portfolios.
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