ETF industry up $1bn in February

In BetaShares' Australian ETF Review for February 2015, the ETF provider said the value of Australian and global equities was a key contributor to the industry’s growth.

“The exchange traded fund market in Australia is going from strength to strength, illustrated by the record growth of $1 billion in February,” BetaShares managing director Alex Vynokur said.

“This brings the total growth in only the first two months of this year to just under $2 billion,” he said.

Mr Vynokur added that in terms of product sectors, exposures to global developed-market equities saw the strongest inflows, with a mix of US and global equities receiving strong flows.

“Compared to other months, redemption activity was relatively high, possibly as a result of investors taking profits after a strong run in the markets,” Mr Vynokur said.

BetaShares highlighted that strong product development activity continued this month, with four new products launched in February.

This brings the total number of products launched in 2015 to seven, compared with a total of 12 new products for the whole of 2014.

"It’s pleasing to see product development in the industry progressing rapidly this year, indicating that investor demand and interest in exchange traded products continues to grow,” Mr Vynokur said.

“With a growing array of products for investors to make use of in different market conditions, we believe the industry is on track to meet or exceed $21-23 billion FUM by the end of the year."