I coached my son’s Little League baseball team for 10 seasons. There were often months-long gaps between when I would see the kids. In that time, one or two of them were often hard to recognize because they’d experienced a massive growth spurt. I’m reminded of that today as I look at ETF flows.
While the ETF leaderboard continues to be dominated by S&P 500 index-based products, there are many other success stories that are likely being missed. There are now more than 5,100 products for advisors, investors, and even analysts to keep up with. Let’s take a look at some funds that have sprouted in just the last few months.
Reaching Escape Velocity in Space
We recently wrote about the asset growth of the Procure Space ETF (UFO ), but since then the assets continued to climb. At the end of 2025, UFO was a modest thematic player with $175 million in assets. By April 29, the fund had soared to $730 million, fueled by $500 million in net inflows. Investors have flocked to space ETFs ahead of SpaceX becoming a public company this summer. As of late April, UFO’s share price had risen 28% year-to-date.
Infrastructure and Income ETFs Find Their Foothold
While growth strategies often grab the headlines, the BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure ETF (BKGI ) has demonstrated that a multi-sector approach to the income-generating theme was in favor. BKGI has seen its assets double in 2026 to just under $1.0 billion, supported by nearly $500 million in net inflows this year and a double-digit year-to-date total return. BKGI’s active approach, which includes ownership of Enbridge and Hess Midstream, has clearly resonated since its late 2022 launch.
Meanwhile, NEOS has quickly become known as a leading provider of covered call strategies; its NEOS Nasdaq 100 High Income ETF (QQQI ) and NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (SPYI ) now manage $20 billion combined. However, the NEOS Gold Strategy ETF (IAUI ) has emerged as a formidable contender in the options based ETF space since its June 2025 debut. IAUI has gathered $150 million in net inflows year-to-date, bringing total assets to $425 million. Gold traditionally does not offer an income stream, which makes IAUI’s recent 12.5% distribution rate all the more appealing to yield-starved investors.
Momentum in the Emerging Tiers
For many advisors, once a fund crosses the $100 million mark, it is considered viable and warrants further due diligence. Two funds that started the year right around that threshold caught my eye for their recent growth.
The ALPS Electrification ETF (ELFY ) swelled from $109 million in December to $175 million, as AI-driven energy demand sparked interest in power grid infrastructure. Not far behind is the VictoryShares International Free Cash Flow ETF (IFLO ), where $44 million of net inflows helped push assets to $165 million. Demand for international equity ETFs has been strong in 2026.
These smaller but notable funds prove that despite having over 5,000 choices, under-the-radar products can still garner significant advisor attention. Like some of this year’s success stories, both ELFY and IFLO are relatively new, having launched in 2025. I’m excited to look back in a short while and see what other previously unknown ETFs have hit their stride.
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vettafi.com is owned by VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”). VettaFi is the index provider for ELFY, IFLO and UFO, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However,ELFY, IFLO and UFO are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi. VettaFi and its affiliates have no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of ELFY, IFLO and UFO.
