By August 2023, the global ETF market gained €95 billion, sharply contrasting between July and August.
Asset manager Amundi reported that the total inflows reached €73.1 billion in July, with equities and fixed income ETFs attracting €49.9 billion and €23.3 billion, respectively. Large blend equity strategies were the most favoured asset class (€16.8 billion), indicating interest in US equity exposure. Additionally, investors allocated €5.4 billion to long-term government bonds ETFs but withdrew €2.5 billion from short-term government bonds ETFs.
In August, the inflows were comparatively lower at €21.5 billion. Fixed income emerged as the more favoured asset class, gathering €13.9 billion, while equities only received €4.1 billion. Ultrashort bonds, essentially serving as a cash substitute, proved to be the most sought-after asset class, attracting €7.5 billion in inflows.
In line with the trend observed in previous months, fixed income remained equally popular as equities, drawing in €12.1 billion from investors. Government bonds gained €8.2 billion in investments over two months. US dollar-denominated debt was the most popular, with €4.2 billion invested in July and August, while Euro-denominated debt received €2.5 billion. Investors appeared to have mixed views on this asset class, with roughly equal allocations to all maturities, long-term and short-term bonds.
Amundi suggested that the popularity of government bonds is leading to reduced attention to ESG in fixed income due to the complexity of integrating responsible investment principles into them.
In July and August, European Ucits equity ETFs saw €13.2 billion in investments. Amundi reported that US equity strategies led the way, gaining €7.7 billion as investors sought exposure to the "resilient" US economy.
World indices ranked as the second most favoured strategy, accumulating €4.4 billion, whereas emerging market equity saw an increase of €1.7 billion. This marked a departure from the trend earlier in the year when investors preferred the emerging market asset class.
ESG equity ETFs attracted €4.1 billion over July and August, with ESG US equities leading, amassing nearly half of all investments in this category.
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