Australian ETF industry marks solid start to 2019
The Australian exchange traded fund (ETF) industry has recorded a strong start to 2019, helped by the market's rally after the turmoil at the end of the last year, according to BetaShares’ Review January 2019.
The first month of the year saw its second largest monthly assets increase on record, with monthly growth of 4.3 per cent or $1.7 billion and hitting its all-time high of 442.5 billion in funds under management (FUM).
According to Betashares’ study, price increases accounted for 60 per cent of the growth while the remaining 40 per cent came from net industry inflows ($700 million).
Similarly to the prior months, the international equities category attracted the highest amount of net inflows ($242 million) and was followed by fixed income with net inflows of $188 million, of which Australian Bond exposures accounted for $162 million.
BetaShares’ managing director, Alex Vynokur, said: “Yet despite these rallies, we are still noticing that investors remain concerned about equity markets and are continuing to allocate towards more defensive exchange traded products to ensure their portfolios are well-diversified.”
Recommended for you
The latest budget papers have outlined a $10 million provision for ASIC greenwashing enforcement activity as well as funds for a sustainable labelling regime to be partially met by industry levies.
Betashares has expanded its fixed income solutions with the launch of a new ETF offering exposure to subordinated bonds issued by the big four Australian banks.
The latest monthly Bank of America global fund manager survey has found investors are starting to shift cash into bonds as cash allocations reach a three-year low.
AUSIEX analysis has discovered the net traded value of Australian dollar fixed income ETFs more than doubled from January to April, reflecting growing investor demand.