Year-to-date (YTD) net inflows for ETFs globally reached a record $433 billion at the end of September 2017, according to ETFGI, an increase of 79% from the same period in 2016. The $49bn of net new assets gathered during September marked the forty-fourth consecutive month of inflows and brings total global ETF assets to $4.5 trillion.
Equities ETFs were once again the asset class that gathered the majority of the monthly inflows, adding a record $37bn during September. YTD net inflows now stand at $332bn, significantly greater than the $88bn seen over the same period last year.
Fixed income products also saw their assets swell in size during September, albeit on a more modest level. Net inflows during the month hit $11bn for globally listed bond ETFs, bringing YTD inflows to $118bn. Inflows during the same period last year were $102bn.
Commodity ETFs have had a tougher time attracting assets so far this year, gathering $2.5bn in September to bring YTD inflows to $8.1bn. Net new assets over the same period last year were $36bn, over four times greater than this year.
BlackRock gathered the largest inflows during the month. The firm’s iShares range gained $21bn in September, with Vanguard ($10bn) and SPDR ETFs ($4.2bn) a distant second and third.
BlackRock has also gathered the largest inflows YTD. The provider has added $194bn in net new assets so far in 2017, followed by Nomura AM with $21bn and Schwab ETFs with $20bn.
There are currently 7,060 ETFs listed globally, comprised of 13,295 listings from 336 providers on 70 exchanges in 56 countries.