Quick read – Summary:
- The global ETF industry ended 2018 at US$4.8 trillion in assets under management (AuM), posting a robust annual growth rate of 20% since 2005.
- In the US in 2018, passive funds (including traditional unlisted mutual funds and passive ETFs) attracted net inflows of US$431 billion. In comparison, active mutual funds in the U.S. reported net outflows of US$418 billion, the highest level of annual outflows for this category on record.
- In the larger and more mature market of the U.S., ETFs represent about 16% of the size of the broader mutual fund industry. Comparatively, in Australia, penetration is at about 1.5%. While recent growth has been fast, we believe Australian investors are just starting to scratch the surface when it comes to ETF usage.
- Fears that the popularity of ETFs has fuelled sharemarket volatility are unfounded and data from 2018 assists in debunking this myth.
- There has been strong growth in ESG/ ethical oriented products. ETF AuM grew by 26% year-on-year.
- There has also been strong growth in smart beta strategies- recording growth in flows of 10% compared with 2017, and reaching a record high of $86B in 2018.
Reading time: 4 min
We recently launched the first edition of the quarterly BetaShares Global ETF Review – a complement to our monthly Australian-focused publication which focuses on the local ETF industry, and analyses key trends and developments in the industry outside of Australia. Looking at more mature ETF industries globally is a great way to gain insight into the potential future for our own Australian market, and that future looks bright!
The full report is available for download, but I’ve captured some key highlights below.
Index strategies dominate investor preferences
The global ETF industry ended 2018 at US$4.8 trillion in assets under management (AuM), posting a robust annual growth rate of 20% since 2005. The strength of the ETF industry can be largely explained by the growing preference for passive strategies, which still dominate the global ETF space. More broadly, unlisted funds (known as ‘mutual funds’ in the U.S.) are also evidencing a tilt towards passive strategies. In the U.S. in 2018, passive funds (including traditional unlisted mutual funds and passive ETFs) attracted net inflows of US$431 billion. In comparison, active mutual funds in the U.S. reported net outflows of US$418 billion, the highest level of annual outflows for this category on record.
The chart below clearly illustrates the trend away from traditional active mutual funds. Interestingly, since 2012, there have been net inflows into Active ETFs as well as Passive ETFs, indicating investor preferences for the ETF structure whether or not the underlying investments are actively or passively managed.
Source: Bloomberg.
Investor preferences are perhaps even more strikingly evidenced in the chart of U.S. Equities Mutual Fund v ETF flows. With both categories including both passive & active strategies, the investor trend towards the ETF product wrapper is very clear!
Source: Bloomberg.
As is the trend in Australia, investors around the world are continuing to focus their attention on asset allocation, which has been demonstrated, over time, to be responsible for the vast majority of investors’ returns. The cost-effectiveness, transparency and accessibility offered by ETFs makes them appealing for all investor types, whether an institutional asset allocator, a financial advisor, a high net worth individual, or a millennial who is just starting to build an investment portfolio.
Compared to larger and more mature markets, such as the U.S. and Canada, Australia sits behind in terms of net inflows and size. Putting the size of the industry in context, in the most mature industry globally, the U.S., ETFs represent about 16% of the size of the broader mutual fund industry. In Australia, the penetration is far smaller, at about 1.5%, evidencing the growth opportunity in our local market. While recent growth has been fast, we believe Australian investors are just starting to scratch the surface when it comes to ETF usage and believe that the local ETF industry is positioned for a period of strong growth.
Who owns the sharemarket? Not ETFs.
The popularity of ETFs has raised concerns that they themselves are fuelling sharemarket volatility, but these fears are unfounded. The data from 2018 assists in debunking this myth.
As per the graph below, which compares the flows of U.S. Equity ETFs traded in the U.S. vs the performance of the S&P 500 Index, market moves were entirely independent from flows into and out of exchange traded funds.
Source: Bloomberg
December 2018, for example, saw a strong market decline, despite the positive inflows coming from ETFs. It’s this kind of data that is helpful to concretely debunk one of the most common myths about ETFs. Saying ETFs can move markets makes little sense – they’re designed to replicate what their underlying securities do. Nothing more, nothing less!
Sector, asset class and country preferences
The industry report provides insight from the full year 2018 and Q4 as a way to illustrate investor sentiment in relation to asset class, sector and regional exposures. More detail can be obtained via the report itself. In summary:
- Meaningful declines in the share of flows into equity ETFs and towards fixed income ETFs across 2018.
- For the full year, significant increases in flows to North American exposures at the expense of European products – a striking contrast to flows in the fourth quarter, which saw flows to North American exposures drop significantly and go instead towards ex-US global exposures.
- At a sector level, over the course of 2018, a large increase of flows into technology, health care and thematic exposures and away from financials – again however in Q4 those technology flows dried up and went instead into defensive equity sectors such as utilities, communications and consumer staples.
The Global ETF Review will be published each quarter with our next scheduled publication date in early April.