ETFGI Reports Assets Invested In Leveraged And Inverse ETFs And ETPs Listed Globally Reach Record High Of US$87.3 Billion At The End Of January 2018

According to ETFGI’s January 2018 Leverage and Inverse ETF and ETP industry insights report, a monthly report included in an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record high of US$87.3 billion at the end of January 2018, shattering the previous record of US$80.7 billion set at the end of 2017. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)

Highlights
- During January, leverage and inverse ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of $1.47 Bn
- Assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by a record $6.61 Bn
  during    January 2018 to reach a new high of $87.3 Bn at the end of the month
- The majority of assets were invested in leveraged ETFs/ETPs with $53.8 Bn, followed by inverse
  products    with assets of $17.8 Bn, and leveraged inverse with $15.8 Bn

During January 2018 assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs/ETPs increased by $6.61 Bn, or 8.19%. According to ETFGI’s data this growth represents the greatest absolute monthly increase in assets on record. The previous record was set in August 2015, when assets grew by $4.65 Bn.

The majority of assets were invested in leveraged ETFs/ETPs with $53.8 Bn, followed by inverse ETFs/ETPs with assets of $17.8 Bn, and leveraged inverse ETFs/ETPs with $15.8 Bn. The largest market for leveraged and inverse ETFs/ETPs was in the United States, which, at the end of January 2018, had assets of $54.2 Bn, or 62.1% of global assets, invested in 273 ETFs/ETPs.

A large proportion of these assets are invested in relatively few products. For example, the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ US) and the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (SSO US), both of which are leveraged products listed in the United States, had assets of $3.40 Bn and $2.64 Bn, respectively, at the end of January 2018.

This trend is also true outside of the US. For example, the YUANTA/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 1X Bear ETF (00632R TT), an inverse product listed in Taiwan, had assets of $2.77 Bn; and the NEXT FUNDS Nikkei 225 Leveraged Index ETF (1570 JP), a leveraged product listed in Japan, has assets of $2.22 Bn.
Globally, the top 20 ETFs/ETPs by assets collectively accounted for $36.8 Bn at the end of January 2018.

Top 20 ETFs/ETPs by assets: Global

Similarly, the top 20 ETFs/ETPs by net new assets collectively accounted for the majority of net inflows. During January 2018, leverage and inverse ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of $1.47 Bn, of which the top 20 collectively gathered $4.17 Bn.

Top 20 ETFs/ETPs by YTD NNA: Global