The surging ETF slowed down in 2026. By the end of the first quarter of this year, the A-share market fluctuated, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling by 1.94% in a single quarter. The market was filled with various hotspots, changes were fast, and there were opportunities to make money. However, by the end of February, geopolitical turmoil intensified, impacting global risk assets, resulting in a negative investment sentiment in March. In terms of ETF scale, visually speaking, the overall scale decreased from 6 trillion at the end of 2025 to 4.99 trillion, falling back below five trillion. The "disappearance of a trillion" does not mean a setback in ETF business, but rather presents interesting points. Firstly, the largest outflow of funds was from broad-based ETFs. The net outflow in the first quarter of this year was 1.16 trillion, as big funds demonstrated counter-cyclical adjustments in the market, curbing the initial enthusiasm at the beginning of the year and preventing a bull market. This adjustment caused more pain for large companies with broad-based ETFs, and major ETF fund companies with trillions of assets experienced significant changes. Secondly, industry-themed ETFs had a net inflow. Industry-themed and strategic style ETFs combined had a net inflow of nearly 246.8 billion. Sectors such as satellites, gold stocks, non-ferrous metals, chemicals, and power equipment witnessed rotation, with related ETFs receiving continuous funding favor. Thirdly, only 17 commodity ETFs experienced a net inflow of nearly 63 billion. HALO assets gained popularity, with a trend in rising prices in commodities and sectors such as precious metals leading the way, followed by industrial metals, energy, and agricultural products, attracting funds into gold ETFs, energy and chemical ETFs, non-ferrous ETFs, and soybean meal ETFs. Fourthly, despite a shortage in QDII-ETF quotas, they still received a net inflow of nearly 74 billion. ETFs focusing on semiconductors in China and South Korea, as well as Brazil, became favored destinations for funds this year. Grid equipment ETFs, gold ETFs, and Hang Seng technology ETFs received the most inflows. In a market influenced by capital flows, industry-themed ETFs were the most benefited. In the first quarter of this year, there were 72 ETFs with a net inflow of over 2 billion, 27 of which had inflows exceeding 5 billion, with 9 ETFs exceeding 10 billion. Excluding short-term bond ETFs and urban investment bond ETFs, the remaining 7 were all equity ETFs. Huaxia Grid Equipment ETF attracted 25.731 billion in the first quarter, being the only equity ETF with inflows exceeding 20 billion. Although there was a pullback in March, the return rate for the first quarter still reached 24%. Huaan Gold ETF had a net inflow of over 18.083 billion in the first quarter and once reached over a trillion in size; Huatai Bairui Hang Seng Technology ETF had a net inflow of 14.414 billion. Interestingly, Hang Seng technology became an area where investors bought more as it fell. Huatai Bairui, in addition to this ETF, was followed closely by Huaxia and E Fund's related Hang Seng technology ETFs in terms of inflows. Other ETFs with inflows exceeding 10 billion in the first quarter included Yongyuan Satellite ETF, Guotai Semiconductor ETF, and Guotai Gold ETF. Meanwhile, Huaxia Free Cash Flow ETF, Penghua Chemical Industry ETF, and Southern Nonferrous Metals ETF in popular sectors all saw substantial growth in size. Behind the disappearance of a trillion, the ETF giants saw changes in their standings. Indeed, the sudden decrease in ETF scale in a single quarter was not due to lack of effort by fund companies, but rather a result of the large capital's counter-cyclical adjustment. After funds withdrew, only the "big broad ETF companies" were affected. Recent data from newly disclosed fund annual reports showed that by the end of 2025, the national team of A-share stocks (China Investment Corporation, Central Huijin Investments, E Fund Management - China Investment Corporation Single Asset Management Plan, Huaxia Fund - China Investment Corporation Single Asset Management Plan) collectively held 38 ETFs with a total market value of approximately 1.5251 trillion, an increase of about 240.5 billion from the end of the second quarter of 2025. Among them, China Investment Corporation held 19 ETFs with a market value of approximately 792.9 billion, while Central Huijin Investments held 14 ETFs with a market value of approximately 721.7 billion. E Fund Management and Huaxia Fund collectively held an ETF market value of about 10.4 billion. It was these large funds' support that led to a rapid increase in the scale of major broad ETF fund companies. As the tide receded, the impact on ETF scale for these fund companies was substantial. Measuring by companies with ETF scale exceeding one trillion, there were still 16 in the first quarter of this year, with no company dropping out or new additions. However, there were subtle changes in internal structures. Huaxia, E Fund, and HuaTai Bairui's positions remained unshaken as the three giants, and in the short term, there was no opportunity for other fund companies to surpass them. Yet, all three saw changes in scale, with Huaxia and E Fund seeing a decrease of over 200 billion. The major highlight in the top ten was Guotai Fund, with a scale increase of 45.106 billion in the first quarter, jumping from seventh place at the end of 2025 to fourth place, surpassing Southern Fund, Jiashi Fund, and GF Fund, closely following the "big three". In 2025, due to the lack of broad ETFs, Guotai Fund did not receive products from large capital, leading to a decline in ETF scale, but with a return to normalcy and market style cooperation, Guotai Gold ETF, Guotai Semiconductor ETF, Guotai Grid Equipment ETF, and Guotai Oil and Gas ETF all contributed to its scale growth. Southern Fund, Jiashi Fund, and GF Fund moved down one spot each, ranking fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Within the top ten in ETF scale, BoshI Fund grew by 2 billion, exceeding Fuguo Fund, which saw a decrease of 54.5 billion, becoming eighth. Huabao Fund maintained the tenth position. Additionally, at the end of the one trillion ETF category, fund companies showed remarkable power in attracting funds in the first quarter. Huaan Fund increased by 35.627 billion under the boost of gold ETF and similar products; HFT Fund increased by 40 billion due to short and medium bond ETF and similar bond ETFs; YinHua Fund and Tianhong Fund saw increases of over 20 billion each, and Penghua Fund increased its ETF scale by over 10 billion. In just one quarter, there have been monumental changes in both the scale and categories of ETFs, reshaping the landscape for fund companies.People sigh that "things change in the blink of an eye", rolling up their sleeves and working hard has become the norm. More companies have reached a consensus that when the trend shifts back, only with products to take over will there be opportunities, because the construction of a more detailed and comprehensive ETF product map becomes crucial.This article is reprinted from Caixin, edited by Chen Wenfang from GMTEight.