ETF sector loses $2bn in February
ETF assets experienced a rare fall in February, with the sector losing more than $2 billion during the month, according to Betashares.
In its latest monthly update, Betashares said ETF assets experienced a decline of $2.1 billion, thanks to sharemarket declines which offset positive inflows of $3.2 billion. The ASX 200 lost 4.2 per cent during February, while the MSCI World – the benchmark for many international ETFs – lost 0.69 per cent.
Betashares said this was the fifth consecutive month that inflows surpassed $3 billion, but it was lower than the $4.6 billion experienced in January.
After a domestic bias last month, international equity ETFs made up the majority of inflows, with six of the top 10 being international ones. International equities gained $1.4 billion – down from $1.8 billion in January – Australian equities gained $772 million, and fixed income saw inflows of $500 million.
Specifically, the iShares S&P 500 gained $145.7 million, Betashares Global Shares ETF gained $144.6 million, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares gained $143.7 billion. The hedged version of the Vanguard fund gained $111 million, while Betashares Global Shares Currency Hedged and VanEck MSCI World ex Australia Quality ETF gained $102.2 million and $101.1 million, respectively.
However, the most popular fund by a substantial margin was the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF which gained $355 million in February and is the largest ETF by market cap at $18.3 billion.
Top five ETF inflows in February
Source: Betashares, March 2025
The largest outflows were seen by the Betashares Sustainability Leaders Diversified Bond ETF – Currency Hedged which lost $142 million. This is significantly greater than the largest outflows in the previous month which was $51 million lost by the Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund.
Looking at performance, two ETFs gained more than 11 per cent during the month. These were the iShares FTSE China Large-Cap and the Betashares Australian Equity Strong Bear (Managed Fund) which gained 11.8 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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