ETFGI Reports Assets Invested In ETFs And ETPs Listed Globally Reached A New High Of $5.23 Tn At The End Of August 2018

ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new high of US$5.23 trillion, following net inflows of US$35.59 billion and market moves during August. Strong inflows during the month were primarily gathered by ETFs providing exposure to US equities, according to ETFGI’s August 2018 Global ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service.  (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.) 

Highlights

• Total Assets in ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record $5.23 Tn in August.
• Net new assets gathered by ETFs/ETPs listed globally were $35.59 Bn in August.
• 55^th consecutive months of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally. 

“On August 22, 2018 the S&P 500 marked its longest bull market -  3,453 days, without a bear market - a 20% drop from the index’s 52-week high. August was a strong month for U.S. equities with economic strength and strong corporate earnings pushing the S&P 500 to reach record highs and gain 3.26% during the month and up 9.94% year to date.  Most non-US markets suffered declines during August due to investors’ concerns over trade tensions, Brexit, currency crises and a fear of contagion.  Developed markets ex US declined 1.44% in August while up 0.46% YTD, EM markets were down 3.51% and are down 0.81% YTD and Frontier markets were down 4.50% and are down 1.66% YTD.” according to Deborah Fuhr, managing partner and a founder of ETFGI.

At the end of August 2018, the Global ETF/ETP industry had 7,505 ETFs/ETPs, with 14,512 listings, assets of $5.23 Tn, from 382 providers listed on 69 exchanges in 57 countries. Following net inflows of $35.59 and market moves during the month, assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by 2.15%, from $5.12 Tn in July 2018 to $5.23 Tn.

Growth in Global ETF and ETP assets as of the end of August 2018



Equity ETFs/ETPs listed globally gathered record net inflows of $29.10 Bn in August, bringing net inflows for 2018 to $206.24 Bn, less than the $290.64 Bn in net inflows at this point last year. Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of $7.47 Bn in August, growing net inflows for 2018 to $66.86 Bn which is less than the $111.14 Bn in net inflows at this point last year.  
August marked the 55^th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally, Year-to-date in 2018 there have been net inflows of $299 Bn, which are less than the $434 Bn in net inflows at this point last year.

Substantial inflows during August can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $27.13 Bn.  The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV US) gathered $6.59 Bn, the largest net inflows in August. 

Top 20 ETFs by net new assets August 2018: Global

 Similarly, the top 10 ETPs by net new assets collectively gathered $1.09 Bn by the end of August 2018. 

Top 10 ETPs by net new assets August 2018: Global

Investors have tended to invest in core, market cap and lower cost ETFs in August.