On a global basis, exchange traded products, including exchange traded funds and exchange traded notes (ETNs), hauled in a record $199 billion last month, according to industry research firm ETFGI.
“The Global ETF/ETP industry has 5,463 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,510 listings, assets of US$2.6 Tn, from 225 providers listed on 61 exchanges, according to preliminary data from ETFGI’s end Q3 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report,” said ETFGI.
In the U.S., ETFs pulled in $50 billon during the third quarter, bring total ETP in the world’s largest ETF market to $1.86 trillion and that number could soar this quarter because the October through December period is often the best time of the year for ETF inflows.
Some ETFs are already seeing robust 2014 inflows. In fact, some have more than doubled in size. We take a look at some this year’s ETF doublers here with the caveats that the list is issuer agnostic and that the funds here made big dollar moves, such as $500 million to $1 billion, not $5 million to $10 million. Let’s get started with the…
WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: HEDJ)
Assets Under Management: $2.89 billion
Comment: A prime example of an ETF right for the times, HEDJ has benefited from the European Central Bank following the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan down Monetary Easing Boulevard. HEDJ also stands as proof positive of the advantages currency hedging brings to investors’ portfolios.
The ETF is down just 1.5% this year while the unhedged Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK) is off 10.2%. That performance is likely a contributing factor to HEDJ’s rapid asset growth. By the way, HEDJ has not just doubled this year. It has nearly tripled in size since April. [Hedged Europe ETF Tops $1 Billion in Assets]
DeutscheX-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DBEF)
AUM: $806.2
Comment: Like HEDJ, DBEF serves as further proof that advisors and investors are embracing the idea of currency hedged ETFs for regions beyond Japan. DBEF is an alternative to unhedged ETFs that track the widely followed MSCI EAFE Index. With Japan, the Eurozone and Australia, a combined 53% of DBEF’s weight, committed to keeping interest rates, this ETF is poised to gain even more fans as the U.S. dollar strengthens. DBEF has also more than tripled in size this year.
PowerShares S&P 500 Downside Hedged Portfolio (NYSEArca: PHDG)
AUM: $431.8 million
Comment: For strident market bulls, the fact that an ETF like PHDG is on a torrid pace of asset gathering may not be seen as a positive sign. The ETF tries to generate positive total returns in a rising or falling market, providing uncorrelated returns to broad equity markets. PHDG includes a blend of equity positions and CBOE Volatility Index Futures to hedge market risks.
PHDG has also more than tripled in size, taking in $314.6 million in new assets this year, a total bested by just three PowerShares ETFs.
First Trust Canada AlphaDEX Fund (NYSEArca: FCAN)
AUM: $149.6 million
Comment: Now two and a half years old, FCAN has been overshadowed by rival Canada ETFs, but that has started to change this year with nearly $85 million quietly flowing into the ETF to take it above the important $100 million in assets under management mark.
Deutsche X-Trackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEArca: DBEU)
AUM: $365.5
Comment: Though not dedicated Eurozone, DBEU has benefited in significant fashion from the weak euro. Retrenchment in the British pound as markets reset expectations for an interest rate hike that has yet to materialize has also boosted the ETF. DBEU has not just doubled in size this year, it doubled in size in a single day earlier in 2014. [Loving the Strong Dollar, Currency Hedged ETFs Shine]
EGShares Beyond BRICs ETF (NYSEArca: BBRC)
Comment: BBRC has quickly become one of the dominant names among beyond BRIC ETFs, an impressive feat considering debuted in August 2012 and started 2014 with a scant $22 million in assets. Just a week shy of BBRC’s second anniversary, EGShares revealed the ETF had surged to over $250 million in AUM.
Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (NYSEArca: DIV)
AUM: $218.2 million
Comment: DIV is the U.S. answer to the popular Global X SuperDividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDIV), which topped $1 billion in assets earlier this year. DIV is chugging along nicely in its own right.
Put simply, the ETF is loving the significant retrenchment seen in 10-year Treasury yields this year because rate-sensitive utilities, mortgage REITs and master limited partnerships combine for nearly two-thirds of DIV’s weight. That high-yielding sector mix gives DIV a trailing 12-month yield of 5.63% and with high dividend sectors and assets proving sturdy this year, DIV has been one of the top-performing U.S. dividend ETFs.
Not only that, but DIV has added nearly $155 million of its $218.2 million in AUM just this year.