Assets invested in globally-listed ETFs/ETPs grew by a record US$1.287 trillion during 2017, over double the previous record of US$554.00 billion set in 2016.
That’s according to ETFGI’s December 2017 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service.
Deborah Fuhr, ETFGI managing partner and co-founder, said the increase of 36.3%, from US$3.548 trillion at the end of 2016, also represents the greatest growth in assets since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis.
This record was achieved on the eve of another milestone for the ETF industry: the 25th anniversary of the listing of the first ETF in the US, the venerable SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), on 22nd January 1993. At the end of 2017, SPY on its own accounted for assets of US$271.39 billion.
During 2017 ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw record net inflows of US$653.97 billion; 67.4% more than net inflows for 2016, and over double the average for net inflows over the previous 5 years. December 2017 also marked the 47th consecutive month of net inflows into globally-listed ETFs/ETPs, with US$53.81 billion gathered during the month.
The majority of these flows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered US$228.52 billion during 2017. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) on its own accounted for net inflows of US$30.20 billion.