ETF market sees reduced product activity
Last year saw the launch of 25 new exchange traded funds (ETF), but 2013 has seen reduced activity, according to new research by BetaShares.
This can be attributed to a maturing sector with all the major asset classes now representede by exchange traded products, said BetaShares managing director, Alex Vynokur.
"However, we predict greater new product activity int he second half of the year," Vynour said.
The ETF market kept growing in March, reaching $7.2 billion in assets under management, according to the BetaShares report.
March was the sixth consecutive month of growth for the sector, with new inflows being approximately $107 million.
While February saw large flows to international equities, March saw a swing back to domestic equities based products, according Vynokur.
"This is reflective of global markets where equities accounted for 93 per cent of flows, with a bias towards developed over emerging markets," Vynokur said.
Inflows for the year to date were $353 million, representing the best first quarter performance domestically. However, despite the strong first quarter inflows being attributed to equities, the cash ETF was the most popular in terms of new inflows during March.
This indicates a desired investor balance between stability and growth, Vynokur said.
"While investor sentiment and trading values continue to rise, there is still cautiousness around capital growth beign exhibited by investors with 65 per cent of the inflows this month attributed to acash or yield based strategies," he said.
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