Investing

Assets Invested in Active ETFs and ETPs Reached a Record $329 billion at the End Q1 2021

24/7 Wall St. Staff

Published: May 11, 2021 8:19 am

By ETFGI

ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported [on April 30] that Active ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of US$13.35 billion during March, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$47.15 billion.  Assets invested in actively managed ETFs and ETPs finished the month up to 3.4%, from US$318 billion at the end of February to a record US$329 billion, according to ETFGI’s March 2021 Active ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, a monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)

Highlights

• Assets invested in Active ETFs and ETPs reached a record $329 billion at the end of Q1 2021.
• Active ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $13.35 billion during March.
• Year-to-date Q1 net inflows are a record $47.15 billion beating the prior record of $9.46 billion gathered Q1 2018.

“The S&P 500® gained 4.4% in March and 6.2% in Q1, supported by the increasing pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and continued monetary and fiscal support. Global equities gained 2.5% in March and 5.2% in Q1, as measured by the S&P Global BMI.  38 of the 50 countries advanced during the month and 35 were positive at the end of Q1. Developed markets ex-U.S. gained 2.3% in USD terms in March and 4.0% in Q1.  Emerging markets were down 1.6% in USD terms in March and up 2.8% in Q1, as measured by the S&P Emerging BMI,” according to Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder and owner of ETFGI.

Growth in actively managed ETF and ETP assets as of the end of March 2021

Fixed Income focused actively managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of $6.45 billion during March, bringing net inflows for Q1 2021 to $17.91 billion, more than the $1.14 billion in net inflows Fixed Income products had attracted in Q1 2020. Equity focused actively managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally attracted net inflows of $5.57 billion during March, bringing net inflows for Q1 to $25.72 billion, much greater than the $5.10 billion in net inflows equity products had attracted in Q1 2020.

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 active ETFs/ETPs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $9.51 billion during March.  The Hwabao WP Cash Tianyi Listed Money Market Fund (511990 CH) gathered $2.82 billion the largest net inflows.

Top 20 actively managed ETFs/ETPs by net new assets March 2021

Source: ETFGI data sourced from ETF/ETP sponsors, exchanges, regulatory filings, Thomson Reuters/Lipper, Bloomberg, publicly available sources and data generated in-house. Note: This report is based on the most recent data available at the time of publication. Asset and flow data may change slightly as additional data becomes available.

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