Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in Canada reached a new record high of US$90.6 billion at the end February 2017, making a strong statement for the 27th anniversary of the first ETF to launch on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund was the first ever ETF to list, launching on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March 1990.
Research from ETF industry consultant ETFGI found that net inflows of $2.1bn for the month helped the Canadian ETF/ETP industry surpass the prior AUM record of $88.8bn set at the end of January 2017. The positive net gatherings mark the fifth consecutive month of net inflows for the region; year-to-date (YTD) net gatherings amount to $3.4bn.
Equity ETFs/ETPs saw net inflows of $1.3bn in February, bringing the YTD figure to $1.9bn; fixed income ETFs and ETPs experienced net inflows of $371m in February, growing YTD net inflows to $723m; and commodity ETFs/ETPs accumulated net inflows of $19m in February, turning YTD net inflows positive at $10m.
BMO Asset Management was the most successful gatherer of net new assets during February and YTD with $927m and $$1.5bn respectively. iShares grabbed second spot with $436m and $535m net inflows, while Vanguard took bronze with $239m and $480m net inflows.
Record levels of AUM were also reached at the end of February 2017 for ETFs/ETPs listed globally at $3.844 trillion, in the United States at $2.758tn, in Europe at $620bn, in Asia Pacific ex Japan at $136bn and in Japan at $198bn.
At the end of February 2017, the Canadian ETF industry had 474 ETFs, with 642 listings from 19 providers on 2 exchanges.
Twenty-seven years ago, on 9 March 1990 the TIPS ETF (Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund) became the first ETF to list in Canada on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The fund tracked the TSX 35 Index, a composite for 35 large-cap stocks trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange at that time. The TIPS ETF was listed nearly three years before the first ETF (the SPDR S&P 500 ETF) was listed in the United States in January 1993.