Expert insight
Jeff Johnson on the rise of active fixed income ETFs
April 01, 2026
In a recent episode of Bloomberg’s Inside Active podcast, Jeff Johnson, Vanguard’s head of U.S. fixed income product, sat down with host David Cohne to discuss the growing momentum behind active fixed income ETFs—fueled by investor demand for transparency, flexibility, and skilled management in a higher-yield environment.
”We’re seeing advisors increasingly adopt active ETFs to capture a team’s best ideas in a single, liquid wrapper,” said Johnson.
Key themes from the conversation:
- How fixed income ETFs have evolved beyond traditional index products to include a growing range of active strategies.
- The expanding role of active bond ETFs in model portfolios and advisor portfolio construction.
- What current cash flow trends reveal about investor demand for active fixed income.
- What roles do cost, team-based management, discipline, and security selection play in long-term outperformance.
Notes:
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Vanguard has more than 200 fixed income investment professionals globally, and Vanguard bond funds and money market funds had $2.8 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025.
For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2025, 42 of 48 actively managed Vanguard bond funds outperformed their peer group averages. Only funds with a minimum ten-year history were included in the comparison. Results for other time periods will vary. Note that the competitive performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results, and that all investments are subject to risks. For the most recent performance, visit www.vanguard.com/performance. Sources: Vanguard, based on data from LSEG Lipper.
The U.S. exchange‑traded fund (ETF) market totals roughly $13 trillion in assets, based on Morningstar and ETFGI data as of November 30, 2025.
There were approximately $600 billion in flows into fixed income in 2025, with roughly 70% of those flows going into ETFs, according to Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2025.
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