International ETFs see rapid expansion of assets

Article Excerpt

At the end of 2017, the holdings of globally invested exchange traded funds equalled $4.8 trillion U.S. That represents a 36% increase over 2016. The number of funds also increased, rising 7.4% to reach 4,835. Over the past 5 years, the assets of ETFs listed globally increased by 148%. In a business where fund size improves liquidity and appeal, leading ETF providers continue to focus on expanding their inflows. The top 10 funds collected $63 billion in January 2018. About $20 billion went to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and $7 billion to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) and the iShares JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) were also among the funds that saw significant growth in January. The Canadian ETF market continues to expand rapidly: its total assets increased by 38% for 2017 and its asset base of $122 billion is now spread across 570 ETFs. Canadian funds represent about 2.4% of the…