ETF Assets Tracking MSCI Equity Indexes Smash $2 Trillion Barrier—Here’s Why It Matters

Wall Street's index-huggers just hit a staggering milestone—ETF assets pegged to MSCI equity benchmarks now command over $2 trillion in firepower. Passive investing isn't just eating finance—it's gorging on the whole damn buffet.

How did we get here? Three words: cheap, lazy, and effective. Why pay stock-pickers when algorithms can underperform for free?

The real kicker? These funds now wield enough collective might to move markets by sheer inertia. Watch what happens when the herd decides to rebalance.

One cynical footnote: at this rate, soon the only active decision left in finance will be choosing which ETF expense ratio hurts least.

The assets in indexed equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to MSCI’s global equity indexes surpassed $2 trillion, a growth rate of 17 percent since the start of 2025.

This growth demonstrates that MSCI indexes are well positioned for investors seeking global opportunities. Asset growth has been driven by investor interest in products targeting developed markets equities outside the U.S., followed by emerging markets.

More than $17 trillion of assets are benchmarked against MSCI indexes, including non-ETF products, other asset classes including fixed income and actively managed funds.

“We are proud to be the index partner of choice for investors looking to stay ahead of global market transformations across regions, countries and sectors,” said Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at MSCI. “Through a research-driven approach and active client engagement, we deliver and support the indexes our clients need to understand emerging and long-term opportunities across global equity markets.”

MSCI offers over 246,000 equity indexes across the market cap, factors, thematic, sustainability and climate categories. Over 1,400 equity ETFs are linked to MSCI indexes.1

Source: MSCI