Strong ETF appetite reflected in new monthly inflows record

The exponential rise in demand for exchange traded funds (ETFs) by investors and advisers alike has seen the industry set two new records, with monthly inflows in October at $5.99 billion and total funds under management (FUM) now at $321.7 billion.

According to Betashares’ monthly Australian ETF industry review, this marked only the third time this year that monthly inflows were recorded above $5 billion, with total FUM growth for the month at $12.5 billion or 4.03 per cent.

There are now a total of 451 exchange traded products (ETPs) listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Cboe, with 11 new funds launched in October alone. The industry has also recorded a growth rate of 38.4 per cent or $89.2 billion in the last 12 months to date.

According to the review, international equities-themed ETFs maintained their top spot in terms of flows at $1.9 billion, but were closely followed by Australian equities ($1.45 billion) and fixed income ($1.38 billion), driven by a variety of different investment themes and goals as market conditions continue to rapidly change.

Data from the ETF provider also confirmed that while its Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF (MNRS) retains its lead in terms of year-to-date performance – fuelled by the recent gold rally – the Global X Hydrogen ETF has managed to earn top performance for the month of October at 27.69 per cent, followed by the iShares MSCI South Korea Capped Index ETF (23.36 per cent) and the Global X Physical Palladium ETF (20.04 per cent).

The top five local ETF issuers – Vanguard, Betashares, iShares, VanEck and Dimensional – have managed to hold a 78.2 per cent combined market share, slightly down from last month as a result of some minimal fluctuations among them.