New ETF product launches have continued to outpace fund closures, Cerulli has stated.
The latest Cerulli Edge - US Product Development Edition has reported that there were nearly 5,000 ETF strategies in the market by the end of 2025, compared to 2,692 in 2021.
The financial services firm added that active ETFs have dominated the new product landscape, with 953 strategies launched in 2025, accounting for 84% of all new products last year.
This exceeds the 797 ETFs launched in 2021 and is more than triple the active strategies introduced that year.
Cerulli stated that as providers invest more in developing new products, they are also quicker to shut down strategies that are not gathering traction, using these resources to introduce new offerings and maintain competitiveness.
Since 2021, more than 85% of ETF closures have occurred in smaller products, peaking at 92% in 2025. Cerulli notes that subscale product count is driven primarily by defined outcome, levered and option income strategies, which account for nearly one third of all subscale ETFs.
Looking ahead, 83% of ETF issuers intend to launch at least one active ETF in 2026 and 94% are either currently developing (87%) or plan to develop (7%) transparent active ETF solutions.
"The overall ETF ecosystem remains strong, with product development backed by tremendous flows to the structure and uptake across categories," says Kevin Lyons, senior analyst at Cerulli.
"In fact, 2025 marked the third straight year with a record number of new ETF launches. At the same time, the rapid buildout of a range of in-demand solutions creates the risk of a closure wave."
He concluded: "Although closures could increase due to new product development, it is unlikely to hamper the broader ETF industry.
"This data demonstrates a continued emphasis on product development. ETF issuers’ focus is on launching more products rather than closing existing ones.”
