ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in active ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record high of US$90.1 Bn at the end of May 2018; representing an increase in assets of US$4.04 Bn from the previous record of US$86.1 Bn set at the end of April 2018. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
- Assets invested in actively-managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by $4.04 Bn during May to reach a record $90.1 Bn
- In May 2018, actively-managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of $3.20 Bn
- Active fixed income ETFs gathered the largest inflows in May, with net new assets of $1.83 Bn during the month, more than half of all active inflows
According to ETFGI’s May 2018 Active ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, active ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered $3.20 Bn in net inflows; bringing year-to-date net inflows to $15.4 Bn - 57.3% more than the $9.76 Bn in net inflows at this point last year.
At the end of May 2018, the Global active ETF/ETP industry had 501 ETFs/ETPs, with 607 listings, assets of $90.1 Bn, from 103 providers on 18 exchanges in 15 countries.
Global Active ETF and ETP asset growth as at end of May 2018
May 2018 also marked the 41th consecutive month of net inflows into active ETFs/ETPs listed globally, although the $3.20 Bn gathered was 2.62% less than net inflows during this month last year.
The majority of monthly net new inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $9.75 Bn during 2018. The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (MINT US) on its own accounted for year-to-date net inflows of $1.29 Bn.
Top 20 active ETFs by net new assets 
Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: This report is based on the most recent data available at the time of publication. Asset and flow data may change slightly as additional data becomes available.
Active ETFs/ETPs providing equity exposure gathered net inflows of $679 Mn during May, growing net inflows for 2018 to $4.24 Bn, which is almost two times more than at this point last year. Similarly, active fixed income ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $1.83 Bn in May, bringing net inflows for 2018 to $8.93 Bn, which is greater than the $7.25 Bn in net inflows at this point last year.
Investors have tended to invest in active fixed income ETFs in May 2018 with PIMCO US Dollar Short Maturity ETF (MINT US) and iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR CN) capturing most of the flows.
