Investors allocated $73.5 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds in the first half, according to a report by ETF.com.
Approximately two-thirds of that amount poured into equities, amid optimism about U.S. economic recovery.
The report said total ETF assets listed in the U.S. at the end of June stood at $1.9 trillion, nearly 7 percent higher than at the end of 2013 and 26 percent higher than the year-earlier period.
The asset growth reflected a nearly 6 percent increase in the S&P 500 index.
The report noted that this year’s asset gathering has so far lagged the pace needed to match the one-year inflow record of $189 billion set last year.
Still, that was not out of the question, as inflows appeared to be accelerating. In June, they topped $25 billion, according to the report.
ETF.com’s data showed that the top gainers in the first half were the following:
1. Vanguard: Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA)—$3.9 billion
2. Vanguard: Vanguard REIT (VNQ)—$3.4 billion
3. State Street Global Advisors: Energy Select SPDR (XLE)—$3.3 billion
4. Vanguard: Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO)—$3.3 billion
5. Vanguard: Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK)—$3.2 billion
6. Vanguard: Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)—$2.9 billion
7. BlackRock: iShares MSCI EMU (EZU)—$2.7 billion
8. BlackRock: iShares 7–10 Year Treasury Bond (IEF)—$2.5 billion
9. Vanguard: Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND)—$2.3 billion
10. BlackRock: iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA)—$2 billion
ETF.com said Vanguard attracted more than any other ETF sponsor in the first half, almost $31 billion.
The report said the firm’s low-cost pure-beta funds, which typically employ capitalization-weighted indexes, were still attracting serious attention, even as smart-beta index funds designed to beat cap-weighted indexes gained a bigger following in the world of ETFs.
Smart-beta funds’ ascendancy notwithstanding, debate exists on whether there’s a better beta.
The report also noted that with $384 billion in assets under management, Vanguard was within striking distance of catching and surpassing the No. 2 ETF firm, State Street Global Advisors, which has $403 billion.
BlackRock remains top dog, with $718 billion in assets.
Following are the ETFs with the biggest first-half outflows, according to ETF.com data:
1. State Street Global Advisors: SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)—$14.7 billion
2. Invesco PowerShares: PowerShares QQQ (QQQ)—$4.2 billion
3. State Street Global Advisors: Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY)—$2.3 billion
4. Vanguard: Vanguard FTSE (VWO)—$2.3 billion
5. BlackRock: iShares Russell 2000 (IWM)—$2.3 billion
6. Van Eck: Market Vectors Agribusiness (MOO)—$2.2 billion
7. WisdomTree: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (DXJ)—$1.7 billion
8. BlackRock: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (HYG)—$1.6 billion
9. BlackRock: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM)—$1.5 billion
10. State Street Global Advisors: Technology Select SPDR (XLK)—$1.4 billion
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Michael S. Fischer
Michael S. Fischer is a longtime contributing writer for ThinkAdvisor. He previously reported on trade and intellectual property topics for the Economist Intelligence Unit and covered the hedge fund industry for MARHedge and Reuters News Service.
