ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered US$18.99 Bn in net inflows in March 2018. YTD 2018 net inflows are at US$137.12 Bn which is less than the US$197.28 Bn in net inflows at this point last year. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.) 
 
Highlights 

• Net new assets gathered by ETFs/ETPs listed globally were $18.99 Bn in March
• March 2018 marked the 50th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally
• The majority of these net inflows have gone into lows cost, core and market cap ETFs/ETPs 

According to ETFGI’s March 2018 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in globally decreased by $49.33 Bn in March 2018. The decrease of 1.00%, from $4.968 Tn at the end of February 2018 to $4.919 Tn, also represents the lowest monthly growth in assets since February 2018, when assets decreased by 3.50% from $5.148 Tn to $4.968 Tn. 

Global ETF and ETP asset growth as at end of March 2018 

At the end of March 2018, the Global ETF industry had 5,489 ETFs, with 11,355 listings, assets of $4.746 Tn, from 331 providers on 67 exchanges in 56 countries. At the end of March 2018, the Global ETF/ETP industry had 7,389 ETFs/ETPs, with 13,926 listings, assets of $4.919 Tn, from 368 providers on 69 exchanges in 57 countries.

March 2018 marked the 50th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally, with $18.99 Bn gathered during the month; 71.55% less than $66.28 Bn net inflows during this month last year. 

The majority of the monthly net new inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $73.69 Bn during 2018. The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA US) on its own accounted for net inflows of $14.57 Bn. 
 
Top 20 ETFs by net new assets: Global

Similarly, the top 10 ETPs by net new assets collectively gathered $1.09 Bn year-to-date during 2018. 

Top 10 ETPs by net new assets: Europe 

Globally-listed Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered net inflows of $9.77 Bn in March, bringing net inflows for 2018 to $101.01 Bn which is less than the $142.79 Bn in net inflows at this point last year. Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $3.77 Bn in March, growing net inflows for 2018 to $17.49 Bn which is less than the $40.20 Bn in net inflows at this point last year. 

Investors have tended to invest in core, market cap and lower cost ETFs in March 2018 with the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA US) and TOPIX Exchange Traded Fund (1306 JP) capturing most of the flows. The good performance of Japanese ETFs is to be noted, with 3 in the top 5 in YTD net inflows.