The exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider’s forecast includes dual-class funds, meaning some of the reported growth reflects reclassified managed fund assets rather than new investor inflows.
According to data released by both Betashares and VanEck this week, total ETF funds under management (FUM) now stand at $299.4 billion.
Net flows to Australian-domiciled ETFs in August were $5.16 billion, marking the second consecutive month of $5 billion-plus inflows.
Betashares reported slightly lower inflows at just under $5 billion – $4.9 billion – reflecting its coverage of 436 funds across the ASX and Cboe, compared with VanEck’s dataset of 433 funds.
Both firms agreed that international equities were the dominant contributor, with flows ranging from $2.4 billion (Betashares) to $2.63 billion (VanEck).
International equities ETFs made up almost half of August’s inflows, according to Betashares, with top beneficiaries including the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF, Betashares Global Shares ETF, and iShares S&P 500 ETF.
Fixed income ETFs attracted $1.2 billion, led by the Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF with $232 million. Australian bonds dominated flows within this asset class at $779 million, compared with global bonds.
Having represented around a third of flows earlier in the year, Australian equity ETF inflows dropped down to just 17 per cent at $823 million this month.
Despite the lower inflows, four Australian equity ETFs were among the top 10 largest fund inflows for the month: Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF, iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF, Betashares Australia 200 ETF, and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF.
The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF remains the largest fund, with $22 billion in FUM, while Vanguard overall holds $83.2 billion, representing 27.8 per cent of the total market.
While cryptocurrencies dominated inflow headlines in previous months, they were largely absent in August, with Betashares’ Ethereum ETF falling to the bottom of the monthly returns table.
The highest-performing ETF for the month was the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which returned 19.7 per cent, according to both VanEck and Betashares.
Commenting on GDX’s success, Arian Neiron, CEO at VanEck, said: “Gold miners have been trading at compelling valuations for years and we are pleased to see investors now recognising that opportunity.
“The broader trend also underscores how investors are continuing to use ETFs as the preferred way to gain efficient and transparent access to opportunities across markets, whether in gold miners, emerging markets or other segments where structural growth themes are emerging.”
Product development returned in August, with six new ETF launches following a lull in July that saw none.
