iShares reaches $1 billion in AUM
BlackRock's exchange traded funds (ETF) business in Australia, iShares, has reached $1 billion in assets under management three years after the launch of its first suite of international ETFs.
BlackRock’s global head of ETF research and implementation strategy, Deborah Fuhr, said the ETF market in Australia is predicted to grow 20-30 per cent in the next couple of years.
Growth in the number of financial advisers increasing their usage of the product was one of the main factors driving the growth of this sector, according to Fuhr.
She said other factors might include a move to fee-based remuneration models for advisers as well as platforms’ embrace of ETFs.
The head of iShares Australia, Mark Oliver, said the key issue for ETF investors in 2011 was to understand what they owned in terms of product structure and index exposure.
“Not all ETFs are created equal and as more products enter the Australian market, we believe investors should apply close scrutiny before buying an ETF to understand all the costs, quality, reliability and, ultimately, the total performance of an ETF over time,” Oliver said.
“Questioning whether the ETF has consistent levels of liquidity in all economic conditions will also be paramount,” he added.
iShares currently has 23 ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, across both domestic and international indices.
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.
