While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in Europe drew in more than $5 billion (€3.7 billion) in net new money in January, ETFs in the US suffered net redemptions three times as big.
Figures from research firm ETFGI, which include exchange-traded products as well as funds, show the biggest divergence in investor appetite occurred for equity funds. Investors withdrew a net $15.9 billion from equity ETFs in the US in the month. In Europe, investors pumped a net $4 billion into equity ETFs.
“The buying patterns of European-based investors indicates that they are more confident about developed markets, including the US, than investors based in the US in January 2014,” says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI.
In Europe, UBS gathered the most new assets, attracting a net $1.8 billion to its ETFs. After that came iShares with a net $1.3 billion and Lyxor with a net $1.2 billion.
ETFs, which offer low fees and flexible trading, are an increasingly popular way to invest in a range of asset classes from equities to bonds to commodities.
©2014 funds europe
