Investor interest for ETFs continues to gain momentum, with an increasing number of mom and pop investors looking into the nifty investment vehicle.
According to Charles Schwab data on its trading platform for the first quarter of 2018, ETF assets custodied at Schwab hit $423 billion, or up 27% year-over-year, reflecting rising interest for the ETF investment vehicle.
Breaking down the the ETF assets custodied at Schwab into the separate investor groups, ETF assets among retail traders rose 37% to $55 billion, ETF assets under retail investors rose 26% to $147 billion and ETF assets managed for RIA clients rose 25% to $221 billion. The pop in retail trader assets may have reflected the increased trading in a volatile first three months of the year.
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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.