The Australian exchange traded fund (ETF) industry’s funds under management rose to $139.7 billion in February, with a total monthly market cap increase of $1.3 billion.
BetaShares’ monthly ETF review found that despite falling share markets, net inflows led to a slow but positive growth for the industry.
Total net flows were $0.9 billion and comprised 70% of the monthly growth, compared to January when growth was driven by strong market performance thanks to a 7.6% rise by the ASX 200 during the month.
Industry FUM ended February at $139.7 billion, a 0.9% month-on-month increase from January’s previous record of $138.5 billion.
The industry’s size grew mildly over the last 12 months due to market declines, with a 7.4% year-on-year increase, or $9.7 billion.
Some $375 million was invested in Australian equities with popular funds including iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF, Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF and BetaShares Australian Ex-20 Portfolio Diversifier ETF.
This compared to outflows of $62 million for the sector during January.
“Unlike January, this month we saw considerable interest in broad market Australian equities ETFs, with investors seemingly taking the view that the ‘lucky country’ remains in a better position economically than other developed global markets,” said Ilan Israelstam, BetaShares, chief commercial officer.
Following Australian equities, fixed income exposures remained popular with $370 million in net inflows, specifically Australian bonds which saw $196 million in inflows.
BetaShares Strong US Dollar Fund (Hedge Fund) was the top-performing product for the month, returning 11.3%, followed by VanEck Global Carbon Credits ETF and Global X Global Carbon ETF.
When looking at ETF providers, iShares dominated over 30% of the industry with an inflow value of $459 million. VanEck and BetaShares were the next largest providers, recording $419 million and $417 million respectively.
