ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of USD37.48 billion in March, bringing year-to-date net inflows to USD99.14 billion. Assets invested in the Global ETF/ETP industry finished the month up 1.42 per cent, from USD5.32 trillion at the end of February, to a record USD5.40 trillion, according to ETFGI’s March 2019 Global ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report.
“Markets appear to have returned to the relative calm they had grown accustomed to over the past few years. Returns for developed indices decelerated in March, as the effects of more cautious and accommodative central bank policies lose steam,” says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner and founder of ETFGI. “The S&P 500 finished March up 1.94 per cent, with year-to-date returns of 13.65 per cent, marking its best quarter since ‘09. The S&P Europe 350 rose 0.92 per cent in March, as economic data from the region continues to send mixed signals, bringing year-to-date returns to 10.90 per cent. The Topix 150 in Japan was up 0.32 per cent in March, bringing year-to-date returns of 7.96 per cent. Emerging & Frontier returns continued to outpace developed markets. The S&P Emerging BMI and Frontier BMI finished March up 1.74 per cent and 1.37 per cent, bringing year to date returns to 10.45 per cent and 8.82 per cent, respectively.”
11 April marks the 19th anniversary of the listing of the first ETFs in Europe. European Exchange Traded Fund Company launched two listed diversified return securities (LDRS) on the Deutsche Borse. These funds are co-managed by Merrill Lynch and track the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 50 indexes.
At the end of March 2019, the Global ETF/ETP industry had 7,720 ETFs/ETPs, from 412 providers listed on 72 exchanges in 58 countries. Following net inflows of USD37.21 billion and market moves during the month, assets invested in the Global ETF/ETP industry increased by 1.41 per cent from USD5.32 trillion at the end of February, to USD5.40 trillion.
Equity ETFs/ETPs listed globally attracted net inflows of USD16.51 billion in March, bringing net inflows for 2019 to USD36.30 billion, substantially less than the USD100.52 billion million in net inflows equity products had attracted by the end of March 2018. Fixed income ETFs/ETPs listed globally attracted net inflows of USD17.98 billion in March, bringing net inflows for 2019 to USD56.36 billion, considerably greater than the USD17.48 billion in net inflows fixed income products had attracted by the end of March 2018.
Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETF’s by net new assets, which collectively gathered USD30.49 billion in March, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV US) gathered USD7.19 billion alone.
