ETF Trends from the RBC Capital Markets Trading Floor – February 2026

February was a month where investors were generally active, opportunistic and willing to buy across nearly every asset class and geography. It was an extraordinary month for ETFs. They were almost like a black hole, pulling in fund flows from every direction. US ETFs alone attracted $189 billion in new investments, which works out to nearly $10 billion every day. In Canada, the story is similarly impressive, with over $20 billion flowing into Canadian ETFs in February alone. Year-to-date, Canadian ETFs have already brought in more than $40 billion of new assets, which is double what investors put in during the same period last year.

What's driving this? Investors are buying broadly across the board. They are moving money into developed markets, emerging markets and a variety of bond ETFs, all while continuing to buy US stocks. We have also seen a pick-up in demand for All-in-One or Asset Allocation ETFs. These single-ticker solutions provide a portfolio of ETFs designed to follow a specific investment strategy.

The S&P/TSX Composite index was up 7.7% in February, and the S&P Canada Aggregate Bond Index rose 1.5%. This was primarily driven by continued strength in commodities, with both the Materials and Energy sectors leading the Canadian stock market higher. It was a much more mixed outlook in the US; the S&P 500 was actually down -0.5% in February with continued headline and geopolitical risks, AI jitters and valuation concerns directly weighing on the overall index.

The "Buy the Dip" trading activity is alive and well. Markets saw a few brief periods of volatility in February, but ETF investors stepped in and were buyers amidst this weakness. One example is the iShares Software ETF (IGV) – the only software-specific ETF in the U.S. – which became the poster child for the Saas-pocalypse headlines. The ETF actually fell 10% in February and is down 40% from its October highs, yet it attracted nearly $5 billion in new money in February, its best month of fund flows (investor buying) ever. US-listed Growth ETFs also fell 4% but still pulled in an impressive $6.5 billion of new cash. This shows that investors were using any immediate market weakness as a buying opportunity.

February revealed a major change in how investors are positioning their money. Value-focused ETFs – funds designed to own undervalued stocks – saw an enormous $15 billion of new inflows, their best month since 2022. At the same time, Dividend ETFs quadrupled their inflows from the average monthly runrate in 2025 to $6 billion, as investors look for other opportunities to harvest a regular income stream. The investor activity in ETF sectors was also very intriguing. Technology and Semiconductor ETFs saw a notable increase in investor buying, likely a mix of buying-the-dip and staying committed to the tech leadership trade in current bouts of volatility. Meanwhile, Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate also saw increased buying as investors sought steadier, income-producing investments.