The combination of USD17.0bn in net inflows and positive market performance pushed assets in global exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded products to a new record high of USD2.4trn at the end of November, according to ETFGI.
Net inflows into global ETFs/ETPs in November were weaker than the USD32.6bn of net inflows in October and the USD35.7bn net inflows in September.
"Rising levels of uncertainty as to when and how the Federal Reserve will taper its QE scheme has contributed to the weaker inflows into ETFs/ETPs in November," says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI.
In November 2013, ETFs/ETPs saw net inflows of USD17.0bn. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with USD18.2bn, followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with USD1.1bn, while commodity ETFs/ETPs experienced the largest net outflows with USD1.7bn.
Year to date (YTD) through end of November 2013, global ETF/ETP assets have risen by 21 per cent based on positive market performance and net inflows of USD220.6bn, which is in line with the net inflows at this time in 2012.
Equity ETFs/ETPs have gathered the largest net inflows YTD with USD213.5bn, which is significantly higher than the USD124.4bn at this point in 2012. Fixed income ETFs/ETPs have been the second most popular asset class, though net inflows of USD22.4bn YTD are lagging behind the USD61.6bn gathered YTD in 2012. Commodity ETFs/ETPs have so far experienced net outflows in 10 of the 11 months of 2013, with year to date net outflows reaching USD34.7bn at the end of November. This is in contrast to net inflows of USD22.4bn at this point in 2012.
Equities have been the preferred area to allocate assets during 2013 with net inflows of USD213.5bn. North American/US equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows YTD with USD127.4bn, followed by developed Asia Pacific/Japan equity ETFs/ETPs with USD35.5bn, and developed European equity ETFs/ETPs with USD24.7bn, while emerging market equity ETFs/ETPs have experienced YTD net outflows of USD9.8bn.
YTD, iShares ranks first based on net inflows of USD57.3bn. Vanguard is second with USD55.7bn, WisdomTree is third with USD13.6bn, PowerShares is fourth with USD13.3bn and SPDR is fifth with USD11.5bn.
Active ETFs/ETPs (transparent), which have been receiving a lot of press coverage recently, are still a very small segment of the industry with 126 products holding combined assets of USD20.9bn, accounting for less than one per cent of total ETF/ETP assets invested worldwide. Many existing ETF managers as well as traditional active mutual fund managers have made filings with the SEC hoping to offer non-transparent Active ETFs and ETMFs. The SEC is said to be discussing these proposals which in some cases have been with the SEC for over five years.
