The exchange traded fund universe experienced its largest growth spurt over the first half of 2012 as investors moved into yield-producing fund products to keep their portfolios safe from equity swings.
Global exchange traded products attracted $105 billion in net new assets over the first six months, a 16% jump from the $90.6 billion in inflows posted over the first half of last year, according to a BlackRock report. Global ETPs have gathered $1.68 trillion in overall assets.
Investors are still focused on income generation, with fixed-income ETPs adding $42.0 billion in new assets over the first half – investment grade corporate bond ETPs alone attracted $15.5 billion. [Bond ETFs Remain Top Draw in June]
Inflows to fixed-income ETPs made up 41% of total global ETP asset gains, or a 114% rise over the same period last year. June was the eighteenth consecutive month fixed-income ETPs experienced net inflows.
Additionally, other income generating ETFs, such as real estate, preferred stocks and dividend equities, brought in $17. 9 billion year-to-date.
“Demand for exposure to fixed income assets has been a key theme for the last year and shows no sign of abating, as acceptance of the value of an indexed approach to fixed income investing gains increasing traction amongst investors,” Dodd Kittsley, Global head of ETP research for BlackRock, said in the report.