The BetaShares Australian ETF Review for half-year 2021 showed that funds under management in ETFs increased to $115.7 billion, amounting to an increase of 22 per cent in the six months to June.
Just under half of FUM growth came from net flows, with the rest from asset value appreciation, as global equity markets roared back to life with positive news of vaccine roll-outs across many markets.
Net new money in the ETF industry for the half-year amounted to $8.8 billion, an increase of 6 per cent compared to the prior corresponding period.
The top two issuers in the market, Vanguard and BetaShares, received 65 per cent of total flows over the six months.
The report revealed that 15 new exchange-traded products had launched in the six months to June, with seven new issuers – all active managers – entering the market.
With Monash Investors converting its LIC to an ETF over the period, and Magellan signalling it would do the same for one of its listed investment trusts, the report said the trend of active managers entering or expanding their presence in the ETF space was likely to continue.
However passive products continued to take in the lion’s share of new fund flows, with active ETFs increasing their market share by 1 per cent from the same period in 2020.
Global equities ETFs were the top product category over the period by some margin, receiving $5 billion of flows compared to $1.5 billion for the next most popular category, Australian equities.
The report predicted funds under management in the ETF sector would now top $130 billion by the end of the year.
