Moreover, the recent platform data from Charles Schwab revealed rising interest for ETFs among retail investors. According to Schwab, RIA clients captured just 43% of ETF flows in the past 12-month period ended March 2018, compared to 54% in the same period last year. On the other hand, retail investors increased their share from 39% last year to $46% this year while retail traders saw their share increase from 7% to 11%.
The rise in interest among retail investors and traders may reflect the growth or greater reach ETFs now enjoy as more individual investors become accustomed to the relatively new investment vehicle and start to trade ETFs on their own.
Overall, first quarter 2018 ETF flows were $14 billion, contributing to 12-monthf lows through March 2018 of $50 billion, or up 35% compared to the preceding 12-month period. The most popular ETF asset categories in the first three months of the year include international equity at $4.7 billion, U.S. equity $3.6 billion and U.S. fixed-income $2.7 billion.
For more information on the ETF industry, visit our ETF Performance Reports category.