Exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed globally gathered USD34.0 billion in net new assets in April, pushing the industry total to a new record high of US2.49 trillion, according to preliminary data from ETFGI.
At the end of April 2014 there were 5,241 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,238 listings, from 221 providers listed on 59 exchanges around the world.
The ETF/ETP industry in many countries and regions also hit record highs in assets at the end of April 2014 including: the US at USD1.76trn, Europe at USD449.7bn, Japan at USD82.4bn, Canada at USD61.1bn, and the Middle East/Africa at USD41.4bn.
“In April, as was the case in March, investors continued to show a strong preference to equity allocations. Equity markets were again choppy in April – the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high on 2 April but ended the month up less than one per cent. The DJIA closed the month at an all-time high of 16,581. Outside the US, developed markets improved slightly, European equities continued to strengthen, while emerging markets remained flat for the month,” says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI.
In April 2014, ETFs/ETPs globally gathered net inflows of USD34.0bn. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with USD27.5bn, followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with USD6.3bn, while commodity ETFs/ETPs experienced net outflows of USD920m.
YTD through end of April 2014, ETFs/ETPs have seen net inflows of USD68.9bn which is less than the USD83.1bn of net inflows gathered at this time last year. Equity ETFs/ETPs have gathered the largest net inflows YTD with USD37.4bn, followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with USD24.5bn, while commodity ETFs/ETPs have experienced net outflows of USD1.2bn YTD.
In April 2014, iShares gathered the largest net ETF/ETP inflows with USD10.7bn, followed by Vanguard with USD6.2bn in net inflows, and SPDR ETFs with USD4.6bn in net inflows.
