Int. equities push sees Aussie ETF industry hit new all-time high

According to Betashares’ monthly exchange traded fund (ETF) industry review, international equities made up two-thirds of total net inflows in February accounting for $1 billion.

The popularity of international equities saw ETFs reach a new record in assets under management (AUM) in February of $189.4 billion, growing month-on-month (MoM) by 3.4 per cent or a total monthly market capitalisation increase of $6.3 billion.

Net inflows for the month were at $1.6 billion after 11 new products were launched on various exchanges, with Betashares releasing its new Nasdaq range (the Betashares Nasdaq Next Gen 100 ETF and the Betashares Nasdaq 100 Equal Weight ETF), five new funds from iShares launching on CBOE and four funds launched by other issuers.

Betashares also found that cryptocurrency-centric ETFs performed strongly through February after the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) signalled approval of listed Bitcoin ETFs in the US, with the Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF, the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF up by 51 per cent, 47 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

Fixed income (approximately $310 million) and Australian equities (approximately $300 million) followed behind international equities as the next two asset classes to see the highest inflows for the month, with cash experiencing a decline of approximately $98 million.

iShares topped the list with the highest year-to-date flows out of all issuers with over $1.1 billion or 34.06 per cent of the industry, closely followed by Betashares at $972.6 million or 28.9 per cent and VanEck at $716.7 million or 21.31 per cent.