2012 was record year for ETFs

The past year was a record period for ETFs in Canada, with $12.1 billion of inflows, say National Bank analysts Pat Chiefalo, Daniel Straus and Ling Zhang.

ETFs finished strong with $1.8 billion during December alone and investment was up 28% over 2011.

Read:

• Canadian ETF market grows apace

• ETF space expands in November

Fixed income was a key fund driver in 2012, having attracted more than $7.1 billion from investors or a rise of 54% over last year. Overall, the demand for income remained in full force as preferred shares and corporate bond funds proved the most popular within the fixed income category.

Looking to provider performance, the analysts say BMO topped the list. It attracted the most inflows over the past twelve months and pulled in $5 billion in assets overall, an upsurge of 130%. This is the second year it’s outperformed.

BlackRock was a close second, however, with $4.7 billion inflows or 13% growth in 2012. PowerShares now ranks third and had just under $1 billion in inflows.

Horizons continues to march forward with roughly the same inflows as Powershares. It’s gained particular success with its active ETFs.

Read: Active ETFs get a boost from SEC

The fastest percentage growth was achieved by Vanguard though, which started the year at $60 million in assets and finished at nearly $500 million. RBC and First Asset round out the group, also seeing notable growth.

See the Canadian ETF Flows report for more details.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.