Australian ETFs down in January
The Australian exchange traded fund industry (ETFs) industry reached $25.2 billion in funds under management (FUM), at the end of January, which was down by 2.3 per cent counting month-on-month, according to BetaShares.
However, the BetaShares Australian ETF Review found that the decrease was a result of market movements rather than net outflows from the industry itself.
The report also found that fixed income, cash and the international equities posted the highest inflows, while product development activity was strong.
According to BetaShares' managing director, Alex Vynokur, the strong product development trend should be expected to continue throughout the year.
"We saw strong inflows into cash and income ETFs this month, continuing on from strong demand for these categories over the course of 2016," he said.
"While fixed income ETFs have been available on the ASX [Australian Securities Exchange] for five years, real growth in this category has only really commenced in the last 12 months or so, an indication of maturity in the industry.
"2017 has started with strong product development activity, a trend we expect to continue throughout the year."
According to the report, the best performing product in January was currency-hedged global gold miners.
Recommended for you
Rather than gathering new clients and launching new products, the key focus of asset managers right now is to ensure their existing clients are top priority in a bid to prevent outflows.
With US$4.45 million being the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 alongside the rapid explosion of AI, WTW has emphasised why governance efforts are critical in cyber risk management.
The ETF industry experienced $1.7 billion market cap decline in April, according to Betashares, even with positive inflows driven by international equities products.
Sophia Rahmani has officially begun her new role as managing director of Magellan with the intention to move to CEO within 12 months.