Canadian ETFs enjoyed inflows of $3.5 billion in October, bringing listed ETF assets to $192 million, according to a report from Montreal-based National Bank of Canada.
Canadian equities ETFs had a “stellar” month, bringing in $1.1 billion weeks after the S&P/TSX Composite Index hit a record high on Sept. 20. This was driven largely by growth in three broad market-cap weighted ETFs, a low-volatility ETF and two sector ETFs (one invests in the energy sector; the other, the financial sector).
U.S. equities ETFs, on the other hand, saw “mild” inflows of $99 million, as creations in broad market and low-volatility ETFs were almost offset by outflows from dividend/income and financial sector ETFs. International equities ETFs had inflows of $338 million.
Once again, fixed-income ETFs had the highest inflows of the month, raking in $1.7 billion in new assets. High-interest savings ETFs overtook Canadian aggregate bonds as the preferred fixed-income subcategory, while outflows were led by long-term Canada government bonds, preferred shares and floating-rate high-yield ETFs.
Multi-asset ETFs brought in $252 million, while inverse/levered ETFs had inflows of $23 million. The only asset class that lost money during the month was commodities, which saw outflows of $33 million.
There was no change in the number of ETF providers in Canada (35) in October, which was the second-strongest month for inflows in 2019, National Bank reported. Fourteen products launched during the month.