The global exchange traded fund (ETF) industry has reached $2.3 trillion in assets under management, according to State Street Global Advisors' October ETF industry update.
And while the US remains the largest market, Amanda Skelly, head of SPDR ETFs for State Street Global Advisors, said that both European and Australian-listed ETFs had also seen strong growth.
"High yield investing has been a favourite for Australian investors for quite some time and we are now seeing a rapid increase in interest from global investors, with AUM to high yield equity ETFs surpassing $100 billion this month," she said.
"Year-to-date growth in the Australian ETF market has surpassed 40 per cent, fuelled by financial adviser and continued self-managed super fund investor adoption and their preference for on-exchange access to market opportunities."
Skelly added that while the local market had delivered some of the strongest returns for the month, Australian investors still preferred domestic strategies focused on high yield which underperformed the broader market strategies.
Australian investors had also looked to diversify their international exposure, according to the update, so while cash flows to the US market remained strong, continued flows to those ETFs seeking broad exposure to international markets was also evident.
Originally published in SMSF Essentials.
