Exchange traded products that invest in investment grade and high-yield corporate bonds have gathered 85% of the money that has flowed into the global fixed-income category in 2012.
Investors put a record $19.5 billion into global fixed-income exchange traded products in the first quarter, with $16.5 billion flowing into high-yield and investment grade corporate debt. [ETF Spotlight: High-Yield Bonds]
“The growth aspect of exchange traded funds that we are hearing and seeing is an expansion into the fixed-income space,” Bill Kelly, deputy head of securities lending at BNY Mellon, told Financial News.
Overall, global ETPs attracted new assets of $67.3 billion in the first three months. In equity funds, emerging market stock products enjoyed their best first quarter ever with inflows of $13.7 billion, according to BlackRock.
Investors frustrated with low government bond rates are moving into corporate debt in search of better yields.
High-yield and investment grade corporate bond product assets have vaulted 57% over the past 12 months to $92.9 billion. [High-Yield ETFs Go Global]
ETFs that invest in U.S. high-yield or “junk” bonds have stumbled below the 200-day exponential average, a worrying sign for stocks. [Are High-Yield ETFs About to Get Junked?]
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