Cinthia Murphy, Managing Editor, ETF.com
After a slow start to the year, ETF asset flows picked up pace in June, finally pushing year-to-date net creations up above $130 billion, and ahead of last year’s $129.4 billion pace.
It’s been a year of mixed demand from investors. On one side, the most popular asset class this year has been fixed income ETFs, as concerns about global economic growth, unresolved trade disputes with key partners, and geopolitical uncertainty fuel massive appetite for safe-type investments.
So far this year, U.S. bond ETFs have attracted $66 billion in net assets, while international fixed income funds saw about $8 billion in net creations. Funds like the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) and the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX) have been big gainers this year, taking in $4.8 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively.
In the aggregate, fixed income ETFs have taken up more than half the total asset haul seen in the ETF market this year—in some months, net creations hit record levels.
But this hasn’t been a year solely about defensive investing. Appetite for risk assets is anything but dead. U.S. equity ETFs have now taken in about $50 billion year to date, buoyed recently by the Fed’s dovish tone that pointed to more easing ahead.
Some of the most popular strategies year to date include funds such as the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol U.S.A. ETF (USMV), which has seen net creations of $5.9 billion so far in 2019. Net asset inflows into the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) hit $4.8 billion. The list goes on.
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
|
|
Net Flows ($, mm) |
AUM ($, mm) |
% of AUM |
|
U.S. Equity |
49,653.36 |
2,231,504.98 |
2.23% |
|
International Equity |
8,436.11 |
822,812.37 |
1.03% |
|
U.S. Fixed Income |
66,127.98 |
684,498.10 |
9.66% |
|
International Fixed Income |
8,233.76 |
77,485.75 |
10.63% |
|
Commodities |
194.93 |
68,563.87 |
0.28% |
|
Currency |
-352.11 |
1,443.10 |
-24.40% |
|
Leveraged |
-3,214.93 |
37,299.25 |
-8.62% |
|
Inverse |
3,286.98 |
11,980.17 |
27.44% |
|
Asset Allocation |
-219.81 |
9,647.74 |
-2.28% |
|
Alternatives |
716.29 |
4,659.73 |
15.37% |
|
Total: |
132,862.55 |
3,949,895.06 |
3.36% |
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.