Strong May inflows prompt ASX ETF trading rebound
The Australian ETF industry saw funds under management (FUM) grow to a record $147.4 billion in May and has recorded its strongest inflows year to date.
According to Betashares, FUM grew by 1 per cent month on month for a total monthly market cap increase of $1.4 billion.
ASX ETF trading value rose 41 per cent month on month.
For the first time in the calendar year, investor inflows exceeded $1 billion, with net inflows of $1.1 billion, representing 80 per cent of the month’s growth.
The ETF industry grew to $16.1 billion over the last 12 months, growing 12.3 per cent year on year.
The top three products of the month came from Global X (Global X FANG+ ETF, Global X Semiconductor ETF, and Global X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund), all recording over 18 per cent in performance returns.
In May, there are 10 new product launches, which included a Treasury Bond ETF from VanEck, three active ETFs from JP Morgan Asset Management, Global Property and Global Infrastructure products from iShares, and two Global Shares products from Betashares.
There are now around 339 exchange-traded products trading on the ASX and CBOE.
Ilan Israelstam, Betashares chief commercial officer, observed it was a month where “growth exposures roared back to life”, with the best performing products being tech-themed.
“Australian equities on the other hand had negative performance as our Reserve Bank continued to hike interest rates,” he said.
“In what has been very much a reoccurring theme this year, we once again saw Australian fixed income exposures lead the way in terms of flows with the category recording the highest level of net flows this month ($480 million). Broad Australian equities products also continued to receive flows, as has been the case for the year more broadly.”
Though global equities products are typically the most popular category in Australian ETFs, it had now received net outflows for three months in a row, presumably due to continued concern over likely recessions in markets like the US.
AUTHOR
Rhea Nath
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