ETF data provider ETFGI reports that assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally increased by 32.3 per cent during 2017 to reach a new high of USD658.35 billion at the end of December.
Assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by a record USD160.61 billion during the year, to reach a new high of USD658.35 billion.Year-to-date, through end of December 2017, Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of USD71.75 billion. Assets in market cap ETFs increased by 40.3 per cent in 2017 which is significantly more than the 32.3 per cent increase in Smart Beta assets.
ETFGI reports that assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs/ETPs listed globally grew by a record USD160.61 billion during 2017, almost double the previous record of USD87.41 billion set in 2016. The increase of 32.3 per cent, from USD497.74 billion at the end of 2016, also represents the greatest growth in assets since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis.
December 2017 marked the 23rd consecutive month of net inflows into Smart Beta ETFs/ETPs listed globally, with USD8.45 billion gathered during the month, according to ETFGI. During 2017 Smart Beta ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of USD71.75 billion; 33.2 per cent more than net inflows for 2016.
The majority of these flows can be attributed to the top 20 Smart Beta ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered USD30.92 billion during 2017. The Vanguard Value ETF (VTV US) on its own accounted for net inflows of USD5.08 billion.
Value Factor ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of USD2.63 billion in December, growing net inflows for 2017 to USD16.66 billion. Multi Factor ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of USD1.41 billion in December, bringing net inflows for 2017 to USD12.85 billion.
To conclude, investors have tended to invest in lower cost and Value Factor ETFs in 2017 with the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV US) accumulating net inflows of USD1.40 billion and a TER of 6bp, ETFGI says.
