ETF industry soars back to growth


A report by BetaShares has indicated exchange traded funds (ETFs) experienced significant positive flows during October of $7.3 billion.
The rate of assets under management (AUM) grew by 5.9% and witnessed a total market cap increase of $7.3 billion, the largest industry monthly AUM growth to date in dollar terms, and finished the month at $131.7 billion.
BetaShares highlighted that the sharemarket rise globally constituted the majority of the ETF industry’s growth. One-fifth of this increase was due to “relatively robust” net flows, which reached $1.5 billion, while the remainder came from market performance.
This compared to losses of $5.6 billion (4.3%) in September.
Over the last 12 months, industry growth returned to a positive trend. ETFs experienced a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, now at $4.8 billion.
All major asset classes recorded net inflows due to the significant market rally. The composition of flows were relatively balanced, with Australian equities experiencing the highest flows of $417 million. Cash ($396 million), global equities ($369 million) and fixed income ($308 million) also saw sustained flows.
ASX ETF trading value was recorded at $10.7 billion and saw an increase of 17% month on month.
Additionally, the launch of eight new products contributed to the growth seen during the month.
This included:
- BetaShares’ Energy Transition Metals ETF (ASX: XMET)
- Nasdaq 100 Yield Maximiser Fund (ASX: QMAX)
- New passive products from Van Eck and Global X.
Abrdn, Hejaz and Firetrail were three new Active ETF issuers which entered the market.
The Geared US Equity Fund (GGUS) ranked the highest in performance, which returned 18.8%. BetaShares’ Global Energy Companies ETF (FUEL) followed at 14.4%.
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