ETF and ETP assets finish 2012 with a bang

Jan 4th, 2013 | By | Category: ETF and Index News

Assets invested in US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) hit an all-time high in 2012, increasing by 27.1% from $1.06 trillion to $1.35 trillion, according to figures from ETFGI, a London-based ETF consultancy.

ETF and ETP assets finish 2012 with a bang

The year finished on a high as $28.1 billion of net new money flowed into US-listed ETFs and ETPs in December.

Over $187 billion of net new assets was invested in ETFs and ETPs in the US over the year, $11 billion more than the prior record set in 2008.

The year finished on a bang with $28.1 billion of net new money flowing into these products in December.

The top three providers accounted for $151.4 billion or 81% of all the net new assets gathered in 2012.  BlackRock’s iShares gathered the largest net new inflows with $62 billion, followed by Vanguard with $53.4 billion and SSgA’s SPDR with $36 billion.

Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI, said: “The record level of assets invested in ETFs and ETPs and record level and composition of the fund flows in ETFs and ETPs listed in the United States in 2012 show that these products are increasingly being embraced by institutional investors, financial advisors and retail investors for strategic and tactical asset allocations.”

She added: “The flow data is a very good indicator of how investors are tactically and strategically adjusting their allocations to political, economic and other uncertainties that are impacting the markets.”

Equity-based ETFs and ETPs gathered the largest net inflows, accounting for $121.5 billion, followed by fixed income with $46.3 billion and commodities capturing $13.7 billion. Within equities, products providing exposure to US/North American equities were the most popular receiving $72.6 billion, followed by emerging markets with $30.6 billion.

Within fixed income, corporate bond products garnered the largest net inflows with $16.2 billion, followed by high yield with $11.2 billion. In commodities, precious metals gathered the largest net inflows with $12 billion, while agriculture experienced the largest net outflows with $1 billion.

There are currently 1,447 ETFs and ETPs from 53 providers on three exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, and ETF newcomer BATS). The 10-year compound annual growth rate of assets is 28.9%.

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