Exchange-traded products listed globally, including exchange-traded funds, gathered more than $1 trillion in net inflows this year through October, helping to propel assets to a record of just under $10 trillion, according to ETFGI, an independent research and consultancy firm.
In October, ETFs/ETPs had net inflows of $116.2 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $1.04 trillion. That's up 93% from the $538.3 billion gathered during the first 10 months of last year, according to preliminary data in a Nov. 10 news release from ETFGI, which covers trends in global ETFs/ETPs.
The $1.04 trillion of net inflows through October of this year was also $277.4 billion higher than the record $762.8 billion garnered for all of 2020. Assets have increased by nearly 25% so far this year, rising to $9.98 trillion by the end of October, up from $7.99 trillion at the end of last year, the news release said.
Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered $83.7 billion in net inflows in October, bringing net inflows for 2021 so far to a record $716.5 billion. That was up nearly 270% from the $193.8 billion of net inflows equity products saw during the first 10 months of last year.
"Investors are putting net inflows into equities expecting continued good performance," said Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder and owner of ETFGI, in an email.
The MSCI ACWI index returned 17.2% this year through October.
Fixed-income ETFs/ETPs netted $20.6 billion in October, bringing net inflows for 2021 through October to $195.1 billion, up from $194 billion of net inflows for the same period in 2020.
Commodity ETFs/ETPs had net outflows of $1.3 billion, bringing net outflows for 2021 through October to $10.9 billion. That contrasted with the $71.5 billion of net inflows commodity products had attracted year to date through October in 2020.
The top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively garnered $49.4 billion during October, accounted for substantial inflows, according to the news release. BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF garnered $9.5 billion, the biggest individual net inflow. State Street's SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was second with $7.6 billion, followed by Invesco QQQ Trust at $4.3 billion.
