First Asset, an independent Canadian investment management company, has seen the highest percentage asset growth among Canadian exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers during the months of June and July, with C$47.5 million in ETF asset inflows.

The recently launched First Asset DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index ETF (BXF) was the result of an innovative challenge to find Canada’s “next top ETF”.

First Asset launched its initial ETF product line two years ago with a focus on delivering superior risk-adjusted returns.

The firm has found success in both the fixed income and equity ETF categories through collaboration with DEX Universe Bond Indices and Morningstar Indices.

One of First Asset’s best performing funds over the past couple of months, in terms of assets flows, has been the First Asset Morningstar Canada Value Index ETF (FXM).

This fund, which tracks the Morningstar Canada Value Index, invests in equity securities of the largest and most liquid Canadian issuers based on proprietary research generated by Morningstar, and is designed to provide diversified exposure to Canadian issuers which are considered to be “good value” based on characteristics like low price-to-earnings and low price-to-cash flow ratios. Assets under management in this fund increased by more than 100% in July alone.

First Asset has also been innovative in the way it originates and develops new products. In June, the asset manager launched a new fund, the First Asset DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index ETF (BXF), which was the culmination of a winning submission in a competition to find Canada’s “next top ETF”. This product, which provides exposure to a laddered portfolio of Canadian government strip bonds with maturities between one and five years, was deemed to by “missing” from the local ETF landscape by the Canadian advisor community.

Commenting on the inflows, Barry Gordon, President and CEO of First Asset, said: “It’s been a remarkable year so far – as a firm we have seen a 78.7% growth in ETF assets since January, we have three of the top four performing Canadian Equity category ETFs, and First Asset Morningstar Canada Value Index ETF (FXM) is currently ranked as Canada’s top performing ETF on a one-year basis.”

He added: “We appreciate the support from the advisor community and we look forward to continuing to lead the Canadian market in delivering innovative solutions that aim to provide superior risk-adjusted returns for our clients”

First Asset’s rivals in the Canadian ETF market include iShares, BMO, Horizons, Vanguard, RBC, PowerShares and First Trust.