Exchange-traded assets top US$6 trillion

Assets invested in global ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETPs) surpassed US$6 trillion at the end of May, according to data from London-based research firm ETFGI.

ETFs and ETPs attracted net inflows of US$48 billion last month, bringing inflows to date to US$225.41 billion — “significantly higher” than the US$140.54-billion inflow recorded at this point last year, ETFGI reported.

At the end of May, ETF and ETP assets sat at US$6.11 trillion thanks to rallying equity markets.

“The S&P 500 gained 4.8% in May and remains only 5.0% down from its level at the beginning of the year, as markets anticipated relief from a Covid-19-driven economic slowdown,” Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder and owner of ETFGI, said in a statement.

The rally was even more pronounced in Europe, with markets in Sweden and Germany posting monthly gains of 9.9% and 9.2%, respectively.

Despite the rally in equity markets, investors piled into fixed-income ETFs and ETPs, which had net inflows of US$31.26 billion in May.

Commodity ETFs and ETPs recorded net inflows of US$10.09 billion, while equity funds had net outflows of US$181 million.

Globally, there were 8,073 ETFs and ETPs at the end of May coming from 453 providers. ETFs and ETPs are listed on 71 exchanges in 58 countries.

Staff

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