Record August for asset flows into ETFs and ETPs

August saw record asset flows into globally listed ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETPs), according to consultancy ETFGI.

In the same month, globally listed ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $94.64 bn, which brings year-to-date net inflows to $834.21 bn – a significant jump on the $427.56 bn seen in August 2020.

The figure is also larger than the net inflows for all of 2020, which totaled $762.77 bn. 

Assets invested in the global ETF and ETP industry increased by 2.8 percent from $9.46 tn at the end of July 2021 to $9.73 tn in August 2021, according to ETFGI’s 2021 global ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report.

Globally, there are 9,302 ETFs and ETPs, with 18,802 listings and assets of $9.73 tn. As at end of August, there were 568 providers on 78 exchanges in 62 countries. 

Equities in globally listed ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $69.06 bn during August, bringing net inflows for 2021 to $581.25 bn, much higher than the $136.96 bn seen in net inflows in 2020.

Active ETFs and ETPs reported $6.99 bn in net inflows, bringing net inflows for 2021 to $95.22 bn, a significant rise on the $43.04 bn attracted over the same year-to-date period in 2020.

But net inflows to fixed income ETFs and ETPs dropped to $19.99 bn in August 2021. The total for 2021 so far is $153.33 bn, slightly down on 2020’s $160.43 bn.

Top-performing ETFs and ETPs
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust tops the August list with the largest individual net inflow of $7.81 bn. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF comes second with $4.54 bn and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is third with $4.24 bn.

‘Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $40.58 bn during August,’ notes a release from ETFGI.

Invesco Physical Gold ETC tops the ETP list with the largest individual net inflow of $529 mn, followed by ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures with $360 mn and iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN with $213 mn.  

Collectively, the top 10 ETPs by net assets gathered $1.62 bn over August.