With a few launches week, the number of new exchange traded products that have come to market this year is nearing 150.
And is always the case with any new crop of ETFs and ETNs, some have burst out of the gate when it comes to gathering assets while cash has matriculated at a slower pace to other new funds. Translation: Only a small percentage of this year’s rookie ETFs and ETNs have reached the $100 million in assets under management mark.
This list is comprised of the 10 best new ETFs in terms of asset gathering proficiency. Emphasis on ETFs, meaning ETNs have been excluded.
Although ETNs are not featured here, “honorable mentions” are due for the Barclys ETN + FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN (NYSEArca: FIGY) and the Barclays ETN + FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN (NYSEArca: FEEU). Those ETNs have $1.34 billion and $977 million in assets under management, respectively. And don’t forget the Barclays ETN+ Select MLP ETN (NYSEArca: ATMP), which has over $170 million in AUM.
Here are the top-10 new ETFs when it comes asset accumulation.
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (NYSEArca: BNDX)
AUM: $760 Million
Comment: Vanguard usually does not roll out new products on a scale comparable to some of its rivals, so some of its new ETFs can fly under the radar. That can be said of BNDX, which does not grab a lot of headlines, but clearly has grabbed plenty of assets. Overall, Vanguard has pulled in 32 cents of every dollar allocated to ETFs this year, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. [Vanguard Keeps on Hauling in ETF Assets]
SPDR Blackstone/GSO Senior Loan ETF (NYSEArca: SRLN)
AUM: $574.16 Million
Comment: In confirmation that demand is still strong for senior loan ETFs, three new funds tracking this corner of the high-yield bond market have debuted this year. Two have well over $100 million in AUM, led by the actively managed SRLN. SRLN attempts to outperform the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Leveraged Loan Index and the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index.
Vident International Equity Fund (NasdaqGS: VIDI)
AUM: $368 million
Comment: VIDI is one of the more impressive stories among this year’s new ETFs. The fund is not even 60 days old and is already flirting with $370 million in AUM. Vident’s index methodology includes selecting 35 of the most liquid developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. Constituent countries are initially equal-weighted before being re-weighted to account for risk factors. [Vident Global Equity ETF Debuts]
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (NYSEArca: QUAL)
AUM: $222.8 Million
Comment: QUAL can be classified as a smart beta ETF because the ETF’s 126 holdings are selected based on high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth and low financial leverage. Call QUAL a smart beta fund and it call it a success. Almost $223 million in AUM in six months says as much. Plus, QUAL’s 0.15% annual expense ratio is low among fundamental index ETFs.
db X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund (NYSEArca: ASHR)
AUM: $193.5 Million
Comment: ASHR is the first ETF listed in the U.S. to offer investors direct access to China’s A-shares via equities, but that is not the only superlative tied to this new ETF. The fund’s timing was impeccable, debuting in early November as China stocks and ETFs were starting to rally. With stocks on mainland China still inexpensive, ASHR could be poised to be a leader among China ETFs in 2014, not just in terms of asset-gathering, but performance as well. [China Paves the Way for More A-Shares ETFs]
iShares MSCI USA Momentum Index Fund (NYSEArca: MTUM)
AUM: $184.8 Million
Comment: MTUM is one of the three iShares ETFs developed at the request of the Arizona State Retirement System, which seeded $100 million to each of the three funds. It is always nice for an ETF to start out with $100 million, but to MTUM’s credit, it has added almost 85% since its April debut. Like QUAL, MTUM charges just 0.15% per year.
Barron’s 400 ETF (NYSEArca: BFOR)
AUM: $182 Million
Comment: This is a good start for BFOR, which debuted in June. The ETF tracks the Barron’s 400 Index, which “selects the 400 stocks from the MarketGrader U.S. Coverage Universe by using a methodology that selects components based on the strength of their fundamentals in growth, value, profitability and cash flow and then screens such potential Index components for certain criteria regarding concentration, market capitalization and liquidity,” according to issuer data. BFOR is up 15% since its debut.
iSharesBond 2018 Corporate ex-Financials Term ETF (NYSE: IBCC)
AUM: $171 Million
Comment: IBCC is a target-date ETF that debuted in April. The bulk of the fund’s 164 holdings are rated BBB+ or higher and IBCC is cheap with annual fees of just 0.1%.
Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF (NYSEArca: SYLD)
AUM: $171 Million
Comment: SYLD constituent companies must pay cash dividends, they must also be repurchasers of their own shares and show evidence of trimming their debt. That is to say with a rapidly proliferating number of dividend ETFs on the market, SYLD stands out for doing things differently. And that is a good thing because the new ETF has posted double-digit returns since its debut. [As Rates Rise, Some Dividend ETFs Stand Firm]
Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond ETF (NasdaqGS: VWOB)
AUM: $144.8
Comment: This will not go down as a good year for emerging markets bonds ETFs, but VWOB is off to a good start in terms of attracting assets. Returns are a different matter as the new ETF is down 4.7% since its June launch. Russia and Brazil are VWOB’s largest country weights, combing for 23.8% of the ETF’s weight. Mexico, Turkey and Venezuela round out the top-five geographic weights.
Issues to consider include a possible credit downgrade for Brazil, that country’s upcoming elections, Turkey’s political volatility and severe currency issues and a dictatorship in Venezuela. [EM Bond ETFs Vulnerable After Moody’s Changes View on Brazil]