Summary
- Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by a record $1.287 trillion during the year, to reach a new high of $4.835 trillion.
- According to ETFGI’s December 2017 global ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in globally-listed ETFs and ETPs grew by $1.287 Trillion YTD.
- Year-to-date, through end of December 2017, ETFs and ETPs listed globally saw record net inflows of $653.97 Bn.
ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally increased by 36.3% during 2017 to reach a new high of US$4.835 Trillion at the end of December. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
According to ETFGI’s December 2017 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in globally-listed ETFs/ETPs grew by a record US$1.287 Trillion during 2017, over double the previous record of US$554.00 Bn set in 2016. The increase of 36.3%, from US$3.548 Trillion at the end of 2016, also represents the greatest growth in assets since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis.
This record was achieved on the eve of another milestone for the ETF industry: the 25th anniversary of the listing of the first ETF in the US, the venerable SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY US), on 22nd January 1993. At the end of 2017, SPY on its own accounted for assets of US$271.39 Bn.
During 2017 ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw record net inflows of US$653.97 Bn; 67.4% more than net inflows for 2016, and over double the average for net inflows over the previous 5 years. December 2017 also marked the 47th consecutive month of net inflows into globally-listed ETFs/ETPs, with US$53.81 Bn gathered during the month.
The majority of these flows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered US$228.52 Bn during 2017. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV US) on its own accounted for net inflows of US$30.20 Bn.
Top 20 ETFs by net new assets: Global
| Name | Ticker | Assets (US$ Mn) Dec-17 |
ADV (US$ Mn) Dec-17 |
NNA (US$ Mn) YTD 2017 |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | IVV US | 139,492 | 1,007.2 | 30,195 |
| iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | IEFA US | 42,255 | 245.6 | 20,881 |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | VEA US | 68,411 | 314.8 | 17,462 |
| TOPIX Exchange Traded Fund | 1306 JP | 60,847 | 41.8 | 17,230 |
| iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | IEMG US | 42,773 | 402.7 | 16,589 |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | VOO US | 83,676 | 492.1 | 14,959 |
| iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | LQD US | 39,075 | 661.2 | 11,484 |
| iShares MSCI EAFE ETF | EFA US | 84,560 | 1,430.6 | 11,201 |
| iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | AGG US | 53,013 | 289.2 | 10,844 |
| Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | VWO US | 66,694 | 436.4 | 9,266 |
| Listed Index Fund TOPIX | 1308 JP | 27,877 | 5.0 | 8,421 |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | VTI US | 90,938 | 292.6 | 8,337 |
| Daiwa ETF TOPIX | 1305 JP | 28,707 | 3.3 | 8,256 |
| Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | VCIT US | 18,621 | 88.5 | 7,964 |
| iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF | IJR US | 36,014 | 198.4 | 6,539 |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | SPY US | 271,383 | 20,740.7 | 6,211 |
| Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF | VCSH US | 21,681 | 137.3 | 5,843 |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | XLF US | 32,751 | 1,677.7 | 5,765 |
| iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF | EZU US | 15,363 | 332.4 | 5,667 |
| Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | BND US | 37,233 | 161.4 | 5,401 |
Similarly, the top 10 ETPs by net new assets collectively gathered US$10.69 Bn year-to-date during 2017.
Top 10 ETPs by net new assets: Global
| Name | Ticker | Assets (US$ Mn) Dec-17 |
ADV (US$ Mn) Dec-17 |
NNA (US$ Mn) YTD 2017 |
| iShares Gold Trust | IAU US | 10,148 | 96.2 | 1,929 |
| Xetra Gold EUR | 4GLD GY | 7,316 | 17.3 | 1,737 |
| VelocityShares Daily 3x Long Natural Gas ETN | UGAZ US | 1,000 | 245.3 | 1,275 |
| Source Physical Gold ETC (P-ETC) | SGLD LN | 4,697 | 16.0 | 1,121 |
| iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | VXX US | 932 | 934.8 | 1,063 |
| ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures | UVXY US | 394 | 297.4 | 883 |
| SPDR Gold Shares | GLD US | 34,899 | 797.3 | 756 |
| iShares Physical Gold ETC | SGLN LN | 3,202 | 11.2 | 736 |
| VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short Term ETN | TVIX US | 217 | 91.1 | 622 |
| db Physical Gold Euro Hedged ETC | XAD1 GY | 1,671 | 3.8 | 557 |
Globally-listed Equity ETFs/ETPs saw net inflows of US$52.10 Bn in December, bringing net inflows for 2017 to US$475.17 Bn. Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs experienced net inflows of US$1.91 Bn in December, growing net inflows for 2017 to US$138.36 Bn.
To conclude, investors have tended to invest in lower cost and core ETFs in 2017 with the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV US) accumulating net inflows of US$30.20 Bn and a TER of 4bp.
