Assets traded among the world’s exchange traded funds (ETFs) have topped US$10.32trn, setting a new record on the US$10.26trn penned in late 2021.
Having set the previous record before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent inflationary jumps, the value of assets in ETFs dipped in 2021 but have since rebounded to the end of April, according to consultancy ETFGI.
“Investor acceptance and preference for ETFs is strong and continuing,” ETFGI managing partner Deborah Fuhr said, “the market move has pushed the industry to record highs”.
ETFs trade on stock exchanges, holding the likes of stocks, bonds, commodity futures contracts and even alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
According to ETFGI, ETFs have seen two years of consecutive monthly net inflows, leading the value of the funds to peak despite global economic pressure.
US-listed ETFs accounted for US$7.27trn as of April, a new record, with those in Europe and Canada also hitting new peaks, raising to US$1.62trn and US$277bn respectively.
“Investors have continued to put fresh money to work using ETFs to get exposure to a range of investment styles,” Todd Rosenbluth, research head at VettaFi, commented.
“For US investors it’s the way they are accessing international equities and certain investment styles that are hard to obtain through individual securities.”