Key Takeaways
- The Morningstar Global 60/40 Index shed 2.0% in March 2025 as tariff-fueled economic concerns rattled US stocks.
- US exchange-traded funds still pulled in $91 billion in March and $297 billion in the first quarter.
- Ultrashort-bond ETFs punctuated a record quarter with $14 billion of March inflows.
- Red-hot gold ETFs helped the commodities-focused Morningstar Category notch its best monthly flows since August 2020.
- Providers focused on active ETFs and trading tools made some of the largest strides in quarter one.
The table below shows March returns for a sample of Morningstar-analyst-rated ETFs that represent major sections of the stock and bond markets. The global blended portfolio declined 2.4% in the month. Vanguard Total World Stock ETF VT shed 3.5% in its worst month since April 2024, and the bond sleeve provided no relief as Vanguard Total International Bond ETF BNDX slid…
