Global ETFs, ETPs growing 21% faster

ETFs and ETPs that are listed globally are gathering net new assets 21% percent faster than in prior years, according to new data from ETFGI.

Plus, assets invested in both ETFs and ETPs once again surpassed the US$3-trillion milestone in July—the first time this occurred was in May 2015, but assets then dipped below that benchmark the following month.

Read: Canadian, U.S ETF flows remain strong

As of the end of July 2015, the global ETF industry consisted of 5,891 ETFs and ETPs—that included 11,396 listings from 265 providers, across 63 exchanges and 51 countries. Over the course of the month, these global exchange-traded products gathered US$46 billion in assets, with equity products leading the pack at US$35 billion of inflows.

“The S&P 500 index [was] up 2% for the month of July, and finished the first seven months of 2015 up 3%,” says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner of ETFGI. “Although investors faced uncertainty in China and Greece during July, they continued to invest significant net new assets in equity ETFs.”

Internationally, says ETFGI, “European listed ETFs and ETPs gathered US$48 billion, beating the US$43 billion gathered in the same period in 2014. And, ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan gathered US$24 billion, which is significantly higher than the US$15 billion they gathered in the first seven months of 2014.”

Inflow breakdown for July

Canadian ETF inflows were strong in July, but “lower than the blockbuster inflows of past months,” finds a new report from National Bank Financial’s Daniel Strauss and Ling Zhang.

It adds July’s inflows were $442 million, and that Canadian ETF assets now stand at $85.7 billion. Turns out, “Fixed income was the most popular asset class in July, with significant flows to floating rate and corporate credit ETFs. Even the hybrid fixed income asset class of preferred shares saw $100 million creations, despite the persistent market selloff in the underlying securities as investors fear lower forward yields.”

And, says the report, “although equity inflows were flat on a net basis, shifting sentiments saw dollars flow from Canada toward international and U.S. ETFs, especially the banking and healthcare sectors in the U.S. region.”

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In the U.S., says a companion report from National Bank, ETFs assets attracted another US$22 billion in new money—so assets are now at US$2.14 trillion.

In terms of what investors are focusing on, the report notes, “U.S. equity flows took center stage, with investors focusing on U.S. large-cap investments. [But], international equity continues to shine, with another $6 billion in creation.

“U.S. fixed income funds also had large inflows this month amid diverging central bank monetary policies, [while] commodity ETFs had their fifth consecutive month of outflows driven by weakness in commodity prices.”

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