Record ETP flows in first quarter
The exchange-traded products (ETP) sector has seen net assets increase by US$67 billion in the first quarter of 2012 - the best ever start to a year for the sector, according to BlackRock.
New net assets were up 57 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, when the industry attracted US$42.8 billion.
The BlackRock ETP Landscape Industry Highlights report said the figures were an indication of investor optimism, since ETP flows "can provide a barometer of investor sentiment".
iShares Australia managing director Mark Oliver said flows in the first quarter tend to be relatively low due to cyclically high flows in quarter four.
"2012 broke from this normal cyclical pattern. We believe that growing risk-appetite, in the context of low yields in most global markets, may have been a driver," Oliver said.
Fixed income ETPs flows scaled record highs at US$19.5 billion, according to BlackRock.
"Global flows into fixed income ETPs may offer an insight into how these products could gain acceptance in Australia, especially in the wake of the recent introduction of domestic fixed income ETFs now trading on the Australian Securities Exchange," he said.
The top 10 asset-gathering ETPs included emerging market equity products (with global inflows of US$13.7 billion), US large-cap equity, corporate bond, high-yield bonds, volatility products and gold.
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.
