Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) racked up new global records for both assets under management and product creation during the first nine months of 2024.
Fresh data from specialist research house, ETFGI, found the industry pumped out 1,426 new products over the calendar year to September 30, soaring above the previous high of 1,311 set in the same period in 2021.
However, 412 ETFs also closed during the nine-month period, bringing the net product growth count for 2024 to a still-buoyant 1,014.
“The number of product closures YTD [year-to-date] through end of September 2024 decreased in every region compared to the same period in 2023,” the ETFGI report says. “In 2024, the US and Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) recorded the highest number of closures, with 135 and 114 respectively, while Japan had the fewest, with only 3 closures.”
Overall, global ETF assets under management hit a new high of almost US$14.5 trillion as at September 30 as net flows during the nine-month period of US$1.24 trillion broke another record.
“At the end of September, the Global ETFs industry had 12,843 products, with 25,590 listings, assets of US$14.46 Tn, from 786 providers listed on 81 exchanges in 63 countries,” the ETFGI market analysis shows.
The research house, headed by Deborah Fuhr, also attributes some of the 2024 ETF growth spurt to the launch of several cryptocurrency-backed products earlier in the year.
According to the ETFGI release: “The Top 3 ETFs [by flows] highlights the dominance of cryptocurrency ETFs, with iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT US) holding US$23.23 billion in assets, followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC US) with US$14.03 billion and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC US) with US$11.44 billion.”
Elsewhere, a study by US-based publication, Pensions & Investments, found BlackRock, via its iShares brand, retained its ETF top dog status during the 12 months to June 30.
“BlackRock managed [US]$3.86 trillion in ETFs as of June 30, up 19.9% from a year earlier, the survey showed. Vanguard ranked a distant second with [US]$2.65 trillion, but was up 24.5% for the year. State Street Global Advisors ranked third, with [US]$1.38 trillion as of June 30, up 23.1%,” the Pensions & Investments report says.
However, Vanguard remains king of the passive fund market, in general, the publisher found in a wider industry survey.
“Vanguard reported [US]$7.71 trillion in total worldwide index assets managed internally as of June 30, up 19.7% from [US]$6.44 trillion a year earlier. That eclipsed BlackRock, which reported [US]$7.16 trillion of such assets under management as of June 30, up 15.6% from nearly [US]$6.2 trillion as of June 30, 2023.”
Total passive funds under management globally jumped to almost US$25 trillion as of June 30 compared to just over US$21 trillion 12 months previously, the Pensions & Investments report says.