- European-domiciled ETFs attracted $29.9 billion of assets in October, making it the best month of inflows YTD.
- Equity and fixed income ETF exposures saw net inflows of $23.9 billion and $6.0 billion, respectively, last month.
- The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $2.3 billion in October, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows.
Monthly recap: Despite market wobbles, ETF flows accelerate in October
Amid bouts of market volatility, European-domiciled ETFs defied selloffs in various major asset classes to record strong inflows in October. Developed market equities fell -2.0% as investors appeared to digest a mixed growth picture across the US, Europe and China, along with uncertainty around the US presidential election1. Meanwhile, the global bonds fell -3.4%2.
Despite the downbeat backdrop, we saw strong flows into European-domiciled ETFs in October – indeed, the $29.9 billion of net inflows was the highest monthly total of 2024. Year to date, European-domiciled ETFs have seen net inflows of $213.4 billion, far ahead of the previous record ($191 billion in 2021) with two months of 2024 still to go. Core and US equity ETFs led inflows in October. In the fixed income space, government and high-yield bond ETF exposures saw the highest inflows, with a geographic focus on the euro area.
Multi-asset and alternative ETFs both had net inflows in October, while commodity ETFs weathered net outflows.
Total ETF market flows
Equity ETFs start Q4 with strong net inflows
European ETF cumulative flows – cumulative 12 months by asset class ($ billion)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024
Equity ETFs
Core equity ETF flows surge in October
Equity flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024. The ‘segment’ category includes equity exposures which target specific market capitalisation segments, such as small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap. The ‘market access’ category includes difficult-to-access markets such as emerging markets. The ‘basket’ category includes strategies that combine several stocks as the underlying exposure, such as FAANG stocks.
We saw net inflows across most of the equity ETF categories we track. Core equity ETFs added $13.9 billion in inflows, while sustainable and smart beta ETF strategies gathered $4.8 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. None of the equity categories saw significant outflows in October. Year to date, equity ETFs overall have seen $153.6 billion of net inflows.
US and developed-market ETFs continue to drive net inflows
Equity flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024. The ‘world’ category excludes emerging markets.
US and developed-market ETFs again led the pack in terms of geographical ETF exposures, collecting $12.2 billion and $6.0 billion of inflows, respectively, in October. Investors shunned various single-country ETF exposures, however, as Sweden, France, Brazil and Germany ETFs all weathered net outflows.
Fixed income ETFs
Government and high-yield bond ETFs lead fixed income flows
Fixed income flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024.
Government bond ETFs were most popular with European investors in October as they attracted $3.4 billion in assets. High-yield bond products also saw inflows, gathering $2.1 billion. Conversely, corporate bond strategies saw outflows of -$1.9 billion during the month. In total, bond ETFs have attracted $59.8 billion of net inflows so far in 2024.
Euro area bond ETFs capture highest net inflows
Fixed income flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024.
Euro area bond ETFs easily topped the table in October, collecting $4.7 billion in net inflows. UK and US bond exposures also saw demand, garnering $807 million and $323 million of net inflows, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, India and emerging-market bond ETFs endured net outflows of -$189 million and -$132 million, respectively.
Vanguard UCITS ETFs
Vanguard range sees net inflows of $2.3 billion in October
Vanguard UCITS ETF net flows: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 October 2024.
The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $2.3 billion in October, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows. Inflows were split between Vanguard’s equity UCITS ETF range ($1.5 billion) and fixed income UCITS ETF range ($732 million), while the multi-asset UCITS ETF range saw net inflows of $49 million.
1 Source: Bloomberg, index is MSCI World Index, as of 31 October 2024.
2 Source: Bloomberg, index is Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index, as of 31 October 2024.
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