Assets invested in global ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETPs) surpassed US$6 trillion at the end of May, according to data from London-based research firm ETFGI.
ETFs and ETPs attracted net inflows of US$48 billion last month, bringing inflows to date to US$225.41 billion — “significantly higher” than the US$140.54-billion inflow recorded at this point last year, ETFGI reported.
At the end of May, ETF and ETP assets sat at US$6.11 trillion thanks to rallying equity markets.
“The S&P 500 gained 4.8% in May and remains only 5.0% down from its level at the beginning of the year, as markets anticipated relief from a Covid-19-driven economic slowdown,” Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder and owner of ETFGI, said in a statement.
The rally was even more pronounced in Europe, with markets in Sweden and Germany posting monthly gains of 9.9% and 9.2%, respectively.
Despite the rally in equity markets, investors piled into fixed-income ETFs and ETPs, which had net inflows of US$31.26 billion in May.
Commodity ETFs and ETPs recorded net inflows of US$10.09 billion, while equity funds had net outflows of US$181 million.
Globally, there were 8,073 ETFs and ETPs at the end of May coming from 453 providers. ETFs and ETPs are listed on 71 exchanges in 58 countries.