Canadian ETF assets continued their growth through March 2012 to reach a new record high of CAD$49 billion, according to data from the Canadian ETF Association (CETFA). Assets have grown by 18% in the past year and are likely to surpass CAD$50 billion in the very near future.

Canadian ETF industry assets have grown by 18% in the past year are likely to surpass CAD$50 billion in the very near future.

Each month, CETFA, whose membership includes BMO, BlackRock, First Asset and Horizons, compiles data for the entire Canadian ETF industry with the help of Investor Economics, a financial services data research firm.

According to this data, net creations for Canadian-listed ETFs amounted to CAD$1.6 billion for the month, which represents roughly 3.4% of beginning assets. Net creations were highly concentrated among the 25 best-selling ETFs, with this group accounting for 81.2% of net creations in March.

Though a variety of mandates are present among these 25 ETFs, nine ETFs in the ranking provide exposure to fixed income securities, while eight have underlying exposure to common equities.

Canadian equity ETFs were the best selling asset class with CAD$522 million in net creations, with ETFs providing exposure to investment grade fixed income securities backed by corporate issuers placing second after attracting CAD$340 million.

Concentration within the ETF industry remains high with the largest 25 ETFs accounting for 75% of the industry, with the remainder dispersed among 219 ETFs.

Top 10 ETFs in terms of March sales (net creations)

Only three asset classes sustained net redemptions – all three of which provide exposure to equities. North American equity ETFs sustained net redemptions of CAD$15 million, while both agriculture and financial sector equity ETFs experienced net redemptions of CAD$9 million.