The global ETFs industry has gathered $1.45 trillion in net inflows in the first ten months of 2024, surpassing the previous full-year record of $1.29 trillion set in 2021, according to ETF research firm ETFGI.
October alone brought in $211.41 billion in net inflows, according to ETFGI’s latest report on the global ETFs and ETPs industry landscape.
Despite a slight decrease in assets under management from $14.46 trillion at the end of September to $14.41 trillion by the close of October, overall assets have surged by 23.9% since the beginning of 2024. This growth has elevated total assets from $11.63 trillion at the end of 2023, signaling a robust expansion within the industry.
The October inflows reflect ongoing investor demand across multiple asset classes. Equity ETFs led the pack with $110.59 billion in net inflows, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) total to an impressive $806.72 billion, more than double the $323.59 billion recorded by this point in 2023. Fixed income ETFs continued their strong performance with $35.37 billion in net inflows for October, bringing YTD inflows to $282.56 billion, well above last year’s $217.72 billion for the same period. Commodity ETFs, after experiencing net outflows in 2023, attracted $6.81 billion in October, totaling $7.89 billion in inflows YTD.
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Active ETFs also saw notable growth, attracting $47.71 billion in October and boosting YTD inflows to $287.87 billion, more than double the $133.03 billion gathered by this time last year.
The October inflows were largely driven by the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively brought in $69.90 billion. Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO US) led individual ETF inflows with $14.44 billion. Among exchange-traded products (ETPs), the top 10 by net new assets gathered a combined $1.60 billion in October, with WisdomTree Physical Silver (PHAG LN) leading at $318.33 million.
The global ETFs market now encompasses 12,994 products across 25,849 listings from 791 providers on 81 exchanges in 63 countries, marking the 65th consecutive month of net inflows.
ETFGI’s report highlighted that these figures reflect robust demand for diversified, low-cost investment options that offer flexibility and stability amid shifting economic landscapes, underscoring ETFs’ role as a key vehicle for portfolio diversification.
“The S&P 500 index decreased by 0.91% in October but is up 20.97% YTD in 2024. The developed markets index excluding the US decreased by 5.22% in October but is up 6.65% YTD in 2024. Netherlands (down 10.20%) and Portugal (down 8.24%) saw the largest decreases amongst the developed markets in October. The emerging markets index decreased by 3.78% during October but is up 14.93% YTD in 2024. Greece (down 8.66%) and Poland (down 8.18%) saw the largest decreases amongst emerging markets in October,” said Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder and owner of ETFGI.
