Global assets invested in exchange traded funds and exchange traded products hit an all-time high at the end of August, even as trading interest waned in the summer month.
“In a world where investment products come and go in the blink of an eye, ETFs have proved that they are here to stay and might be considered one of the most innovative financial products in the last two decades,” Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI, said in a note. “They are one of the few products that are offered on the same terms to both retail and institutional investors.”
“Market volatility may be making investors wary about the stock market, but they continue to find exchange-traded funds and other exchange traded products useful tools,” Fuhr added.
At the end of August, global ETP assets totaled $1.76 trillion, a 2.3% gain month-over-month and a 15.5% jump year-over-year, according to an ETFGI report. ETPs include similar fund products such as exchange traded notes. [ETF Performance Report: August]
For the month, global fixed-income ETPs added $5.9 billion and global commodities attracted $4.0 billion while global equity ETPs brought in $10 million. On the other hand, currency ETPs lost $137 million and leveraged products bled $1.7 billion.
The average daily ETP trading volume dropped 12.2% to $50 billion in August from $57 billion in July.
iShares gathered the largest portion of new net inflows with $3.8 billion in August, followed by Vanguard with $3.5 billion and DB/x-trackers with $1.8 billion.