Global ETF assets under management reached a record $23.09 trillion at the end of June 2026, according to ETFGI, a London-based research firm tracking the industry since 2012. BlackRock's iShares platform accounts for 27% of that total, or $6.2 trillion—a scale that seemed unimaginable when BlackRock acquired iShares from Barclays Global Investors in 2009 for $13.5 billion, when the entire platform held just $300 billion in assets amid the global financial crisis.
Elise Terry, now co-head of the Americas for global product solutions and head of Americas iShares, was in sales at BlackRock when the deal closed. She didn't foresee the industry's explosive growth—few did, except perhaps CEO Larry Fink—but she recognized ETFs as a structural fix for long-standing investor pain points: high costs, opacity, illiquidity, and tax inefficiency. "ETFs solved real problems for investors," Terry says. "As investing became more outcome-oriented and advisors increasingly built portfolios instead of picking individual securities, ETFs became the natural vehicle."
ETFs didn't change what investors buy; they changed how investing is delivered. That shift also transformed Terry's career, propelling her through BlackRock's ranks over two decades. iShares now represents roughly 40% of BlackRock's $15.3 trillion in total assets under management, per the firm's second-quarter 2026 earnings. Terry oversees a product suite spanning index ETFs, active fixed income, options-based outcome strategies, and liquid alternatives.
"I certainly didn't map out my career thinking I'd one day lead iShares," she says. "I've been fortunate to grow alongside this business, learning from incredible colleagues and, most importantly, from our clients. Today, what stands out to me isn't the prominence of the role—it's the responsibility."
Record inflows, active expansion
iShares led global ETF inflows in the first half of 2026, gathering a record $310 billion in net new assets, including a record first quarter of $132 billion. Active ETFs contributed more than $70 billion in net inflows over the trailing 12 months, making iShares the third-largest active ETF issuer globally. Terry sees this as more than a cyclical trend: investors are choosing ETFs for their combination of efficiency and flexibility, making them central to portfolio construction across retail and institutional channels. BlackRock's November 2025 "People and Money" survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults estimated that 24 million Americans now own ETFs, roughly 23% of all investors.
Use cases are broadening. The BINC iShares Flexible Income Active ETF, launched in 2023, manages approximately $16.2 billion as of late July 2026, reflecting demand for active fixed income in an ETF wrapper. The IALT iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF, launched in December 2025, brings hedge fund-style strategies—equity market neutral, managed futures, diversified bonds—to institutional scale with daily liquidity. "The story isn't that investors are buying more ETFs—it's that they're building more portfolios with ETFs," Terry says. "And that shift has years, not quarters, ahead of it."
Active ETFs have complicated the industry's cost narrative. Passive ETFs, the original standard, drove fees toward zero. Active ETFs carry higher expense ratios—BINC charges 0.40%, IALT 0.99%—drawing scrutiny from those who see them diluting the wrapper's value proposition. Terry disagrees: "Investors have become much more discerning about fees, recognizing that you should pay less for beta and pay for alpha only when it's truly differentiated. Active ETFs make that possible while preserving many of the structural advantages that made ETFs so compelling."
Innovation over proliferation
The global ETF industry comprised 17,404 funds as of June 2026, up from roughly 1,100 in 2009. Critics argue the proliferation of thinly traded funds is unhealthy and confusing. Terry acknowledges the tension but focuses on quality: "At iShares, we focus on strategies with a clear client need, strong investment merit, and a structure that works well in the ETF wrapper. Success is not measured by how many ETFs you launch, but by how many investor problems you solve." The reference point is IVV, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, with approximately $900 billion in assets as of mid-2026, underscoring the scale of core index products. As the industry evolves, advisors may also watch asset managers pivoting to outsourcing and AI as product expansion wanes, and regulators warning about AI concentration in markets. For now, ETFs remain a dominant force in portfolio construction, with iShares leading the charge.
