The firm’s monthly exchange-traded fund (ETF) report found April’s flows were $4.5 billion, compared to $3.4 billion in March, a 32 per cent increase.
Vanguard’s Australian Shares Index ETF saw particularly strong growth at $563 million, up from $403 million in the previous month. This was followed by Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (Hedged) ETF which gained $400 million, more than double the $163 million seen in the previous month, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF which gained $269 million.
In a separate statement, Vanguard Australia noted it had seen $1.8 billion of inflows during the month which was the highest month on record for the provider, helping year-to-date ETF inflows reach $5.4 billion.
Managing director Daniel Shrimski said: “We’ve had a very strong start to the year, and we’re proud that Australians are continuing to embrace Vanguard’s investing philosophy with our low-cost ETFs, managed funds and superannuation.”
VanEck said Australian equities were popular during the month, seeing $1.6 billion in flows compared to just over $1 billion in March. As well as the two Vanguard funds, other popular Australian equity ETFs were iShares S&P/ASX 200 ($257 million), Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ($199 million), Betashares Australia 200 ($125 million) and SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ($124 million).
However, they remain below international equities which saw more than $2 billion in inflows. While international equities have been popular over the past year, April’s sum was a significant increase from $776 million during March.
The asset class was the “clear frontrunner” last year when they reported $15 billion in inflows during 2024.
Following two months of market cap falls during February and March, the local ETF market exceeded the $250 billion milestone in total funds under management in April, gaining 3.5 per cent to $258.9 billion.
“The Australian ETF industry crossed back over the $250 billion mark in April, after regressing in the two months prior due to market declines,” VanEck said.
“This marks the 10th consecutive month of $3 billion+ flows into Australian-based ETFs, with investors rotating out of US stocks and allocating heavily to international equity ETFs ($2.1 billion), followed by Australian equity ETFs ($1.7 billion).”
