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An “impressive” $8 billion poured into Canadian ETFs in October, the second highest monthly inflow reported this year, according to a report from National Bank Financial Inc.  

This brings year-to-date inflows to $56.6 billion, surpassing the previous annual inflow record of $52.5 billion, set in 2021.  

And if ETF inflows continue at this rate, they could top $70 billion by the end of the year, the bank’s monthly research report said. 

All fund categories recorded strong inflows in October, except for cryptoasset ETFs.  

Equities led the way with $4 billion in net new assets, with nearly equal-dollar amounts flowing into Canada, U.S. and international equities.  

Fixed-income ETFs pulled in $3.1 billion in flows in October.  

There were small outflows in long-term bond and money-market ETFs, while the broad-based Canadian aggregate bond category welcomed $1.9 billion in flows, led by CI Global Asset Management’s CI Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (TSX: CAGG). That fund went through an index and name change earlier this year, the report noted.  

Among all maturities, ultra-short term bond ETFs had the largest percentage flow increase. 

Commodity ETFs, meanwhile, reported inflows of $49 million, led by gold-bullion ETFs. 

Cryptoasset ETFs recorded $81 million in redemptions in October. The category has lost $483 million in flows so far this year. 

ESG ETFs saw net inflows of $124 million for the month, which the report said was a positive start to the fourth quarter after two consecutive quarters of net outflows for the category. The funds have lost $1.5 billion in flows since the start of the year.  

Moreover, 15 new Canada-listed ETFs hit the market in October, including four funds from Capital Group Canada and two from J.P. Morgan Asset Management. These funds mark the companies’ entrances into the Canadian ETF market.  

Of the 15 new funds, all are actively managed except for the BMO MSCI EAFE High Quality Index ETF (TSX: ZIQ), which tracks the MSCI EAFE Quality Index.