RIAs shifted behavior with ETFs in the first quarter, report reveals

The use of exchange-traded funds by RIA firms continues to expand and evolve, according to a new analysis of the market.

By looking at 13F filings from more than 5000 advisors and using proprietary advisor-mapping, the latest ETF Trends Report updates AdvizorPro’s previous report which focused on allocations made by RIAs to ETFs in 2024, to show how the landscape evolved in the first three months of 2025. 

The report shows that in the first quarter, 5136 RIAs reported ETF holdings, spanning 3,740 unique ETFs across 242 issuers.

However, while 42% of RIAs increased their ETF count in Q1 2025, this was a significant decrease from 67% in the previous 12-month period, and 37% reduced their holdings.

Thematic and tactical ETFs were outperformers amid advisors’ focus on geopolitical and inflation risk, especially those that are tied to commodities, options trading, and macro-driven exposures. With volatile markets, strategy differentiation appears to be prioritized by RIAs over cost minimization with the report finding that high-fee ETFs experienced rapid growth in the quarter.

But advisors are also ensuring that portfolios are optimized, as shown by the active turnover of funds, despite a lower number of new launches.

Gold ETFs continued to gain traction, with advisors maintaining allocations to commodities amid ongoing inflation concerns and uncertainty around Federal Reserve rate policy, while digital asset ETF growth was aided by Bitcoin’s strong Q1 performance and more custodians offering access.

Uranium-themed ETFs and other energy transition funds experienced increased adoption, likely driven by shifting policies and growing global interest in nuclear power, and region-specific funds, including EWG (Germany) and EPOL (Poland), also saw rising popularity, possibly reflecting advisor reactions to evolving economic conditions in the EU and Eastern Europe.

Additionally, ETF categories such as Commodities Focused, Miscellaneous Region, and Equity Hedged registered notable increases in usage.

New funds with downside risk tools and short-duration bond and CLO strategies were also favored.

The report also reveals that, while established issuers like Franklin Templeton maintained their strong position, emerging issuers such as Panagram and BondBloxx showed the fastest percentage growth in RIA allocators.