ETF AUM linked to MSCI equity indices passes $700bn milestone

Nov 14th, 2017 | By | Category: ETF and Index News

MSCI has announced that the total assets under management of equity ETFs linked to its indices has reached an all-time high of $707 billion, as of 6 November 2017.

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Diana Tidd, MSCI’s head of index.

Since the start of this year, AUM in equity ETFs linked to MSCI indices has risen by $226bn, consisting of net inflows of $116bn and a market appreciation of $110bn. The surge in assets is equivalent to a 53.6% annualized growth rate.

In comparison, total AUM benchmarked to MSCI equity indices increased by approximately 19% year-on-year, highlighting how the benefits provided through an ETF structure are driving proportionally greater flows to the ETF industry.

Diana Tidd, MSCI’s head of index, commented: “Having over $12.4 trillion in AUM benchmarked to our equity indices globally is a testament to our leadership and our ability to deliver a global index framework with broad market coverage that provides an accurate reflection of the equity markets for our clients.”

While the level of growth in ETF assets is clearly impressive, total AUM linked to MSCI’s equity indices amount to more than $12.4 trillion, meaning ETFs represent just 5.7% of total equity AUM benchmarked to MSCI indices globally.

There are currently more than 980 ETFs tracking MSCI indices globally, making MSCI the market-leading index provider.

The largest ETF in Europe to track an MSCI equity index is the iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (SWDA LN) with approximately $12.5bn in AUM. The fund provides large- and mid-cap developed markets exposure for a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.20%.

SWDA is relatively small in comparison to the largest US-listed ETF to track an MSCI equity index – the $81.1bn iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA US). EFA provides access to large- and mid-cap developed market equities, excluding the US and Canada. Its TER is 0.33%.

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