July 2024 witnessed an unprecedented surge in global exchange-traded products (ETPs) with $195.4 billion added, shattering the previous record set in December 2023 of $168.5 billion.
According to data from BlackRock, this influx highlights the robust investor appetite for a diverse range of assets, driven by favourable market conditions and strategic allocations.
Equity ETPs garnered $126.6 billion, marking their best month since December. Fixed income ETPs also set a new record with $60.5 billion in inflows, underscoring the broad-based demand across various fixed income exposures.
Precious metals continued to attract attention, with gold ETPs recording their third consecutive month of inflows, the largest since March 2022, and significant net buying of silver ETPs.
The surge in fixed income flows was notably diverse in July, contrasting with previous records driven by single exposure increases. Rates flows peaked at $19.8 billion, the highest since October 2023. Investment grade buying climbed to $13.6 billion, the second-highest on record, while high yield (HY) flows rebounded to $4.0 billion after stagnation in June. Emerging market debt maintained a positive trend with $3.2 billion, marking its fourth consecutive month of inflows.
Emea-listed fixed income ETPs mirrored this trend, also setting a new monthly record. Rates ETPs led with $3.6 billion, followed closely by IG with $3.4 billion. High yield and emerging market debt remained positive, with HY returning to positive territory month-on-month with $0.6 billion. Emea-listed rate flows showed a greater inclination towards short-duration exposures (69%), compared to a more balanced global distribution between short and long-duration ETPs.
Global ETP flows “moderate” in July, bond buying up
Technology continued to dominate sector flows in July, attracting an additional $10.1 billion. Financials, industrials and utilities also saw significant inflows, adding $1.8 billion, $1.6 billion, and $1.5 billion, respectively. Healthcare maintained positive momentum for the second month with $0.4 billion. However, cyclical sectors remained selective; materials faced $0.9 billion in outflows, and energy continued its downturn with another $0.1 billion out, totalling $3.0 billion in outflows over the last three months.
US small-cap flows surged to $14.2 billion, the second-highest on record, just behind December 2023’s $16.2 billion. In contrast, European small-cap flows dropped to $0.1 billion, the lowest since February, following $1.0 billion in inflows during Q2.
Gold recorded a significant third consecutive month of inflows, with $3.2 billion added in July, the highest since March 2022. The increase was primarily driven by US-listed ETPs, reversing a three-month trend of outflows. Emea and Apac-listed flows also remained positive, reflecting investor confidence in gold’s year-to-date price performance and continued central bank purchases. Silver also experienced a notable uptick with $0.8 billion in inflows, up from $0.3 billion in June, marking the second consecutive month of positive movement in tandem with gold.
This growth was largely driven by US-listed ETPs, which saw their strongest two-month streak since January 2021. Emea and Apac-listed flow into silver remained positive but more subdued.
