International equity ETFs back in vogue in April

International equities shrugged off market turmoil in April to report inflows of some $2 billion, more than double of the flows seen in the previous month.

Following US President Donald Trump’s tariff tirade in early April, Betashares’ monthly review revealed a massive jump for international equity ETFs rising to more than $2 billion last month.

The popularity of ETFs in this asset class is a return to form after a difficult month in March where flows were hit by global sharemarket volatility which caused international equity flows to fall from $1.5 billion in February to $815 million.

April’s flows come on the back of “unprecedented net flows” for international equity ETFs last year, according to VanEck’s ETF Industry Pulse, which found that these ETFs made up more than 40 per cent of the total net flows in 2024 at $15 billion.

Popular international equity ETFs during the month included Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (Hedged) and the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The unhedged version is the second-largest ETF by market cap at $10.4 billion. 

Meanwhile, Betashares’ reported inflows for Australian equities reached more than $1.6 billion for April, including subcategory inflows of $1.2 billion for broad Australian equities and $231 million for Australian bonds, bookending the top five. 

Overall, the ETF industry enjoyed total inflows of $4.5 billion, driving total funds under management to $258.9 billion in April.

Looking at the top products for the month, Betashares revealed the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF was once again the frontrunner in terms of market cap, coming in at $19.3 billion as at 30 April.

This was followed by Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF with a market cap of $10.5 billion and maintaining its position in second after overtaking iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) last month.

Following its loss of over $300 million in outflows during March, IVV once again reported outflows of more than $44 million in April, bringing its market cap down to $10.05 billion, though it did manage to retain its position in third.

Magellan Global Fund (Open Class) (Managed Fund) reported the highest outflows for the month, losing $92.4 million, followed closely by Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF which was $90.5 million in outflows.

Speaking with Money Management last month, James Waterworth, director of wealth at BlackRock Australia, noted that global markets at the time had been “incredibly volatile” and anticipated that this would be an ongoing trend for some time.

Furthermore, he suggested that the movements last month were possibly a result of investors looking to derisk into bonds and equity markets that are exposed to the US during these uncertain times.

Potentially a reflection of these concerns, Betashares found that flows to Australian cash and fixed income ETFs were down considerably in April with just $366 million combined, compared with $1.2 billion the previous month.