November proved to be a standout month for international equities, with these ETFs witnessing nearly double the flows of the next closest category in November.
According to Betashares’ latest ETF review, international equities products notched inflows of some $1.7 billion, a considerable pace ahead of Australian equities ($804 million) and fixed income ($565 million).
They comprised 55 per cent of industry new flows of November, with six of the most popular ETFs in terms of flows invested in international equities.
The most popular product of the month was the iShares S&P 500 ETF which saw flows of $507 million amid strong demand for overseas exposures.
The VanEck MSCI International Small Companies Quality ETF and the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (Hedged) ETF were also featured among the top five funds, with flows of $144.9 million and $104.9 million respectively.
Additional notable mentions in the top 10 funds of November included the iShares S&P 500 AUD Hedged ETF which saw flows of $89.2 million, the Betashares NASDAQ 100 ETF ($88.7 million), and the Betashares S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF ($83.4 million).
November marked the strongest month for the asset class this year so far. Prior to this, the most popular months in terms of flows were July ($1.6 billion in flows) and September ($1.5 billion).
Interestingly, while international equities garnered the lion’s share of flows, the top performing funds of the month were digital asset exposures.
The Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF took the top spot at 42.4 per cent, with the Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF hot on its heels at 42 per cent.
The DigitalX Bitcoin ETF and Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF both returned 39.8 per cent, and the VanEck Bitcoin ETF returned 39.6 per cent.
More broadly, Betashares also noted the Australian ETF industry remains in a hot streak and is “within striking distance” of the $250 billion milestone.
Year to date industry net flows to November now stand at $26.9 billion, setting a new record after a previous mark of $23.2 billion set in 2021.
Over the last 12 months, the industry has grown by 36.9 per cent or $73.2 billion.
