2014 was a very good year for the global ETF / ETP industry, as it witnessed a record level of $2.79 trillion in assets invested. The amount of assets is expected to cross the $3 trillion milestone in the first half of 2015, reports ETFGI’s research.
Significantly, the assets invested in the ETF/ETP industry in the United States surpassed the $2 trillion milestone at the end of 2014, according to ETFGI’s research findings, which were unveiled on Jan. 12.
ETFs / ETPs – global scenario
EFTGI’s research points out that during 2014, the global ETF / ETP industry’s $2.79 trillion in assets were invested across 5,580 ETFs / ETPs in 10,770 listings from 239 providers listed on 62 exchanges in 49 countries. The research notes that December 2014 witnessed the largest net new asset (NNA) on record, hitting $61.5 billion in NNA inflows. According to the research, last year 29 new providers listed their first ETF / ETP.
The top 3 providers, iShares, SPDR and Vanguard, saw their combined global market share increase from 69.9% to 70.5%. While Vanguard’s market share increased from 14.2% to 16%, iShares’ market share dwindled to 37.2% from 38.4%. However, SPDR’s market share remained stable at 17.3%.
While the S&P Dow Jones takes credit for the largest amount of ETF / ETP assets, tracking its benchmarks as reflecting a 30.6% market share, MSCI stands in second place with a 13.5% market share, following by Barclays with a 9% market share.
ETF / ETP trends in the U.S. and Europe
According to the research conducted by ETFGI, 2014 proved to be a significant year for the U.S., with the value of the ETFs / ETPs listed at the end of the year surpassing the milestone of $2 trillion in assets by gathering $245.7 billion, which is a record level of NNA. Moreover, December witnessed NNA inflows of $52.7 billion in U.S.-listed ETFs / ETPs, which is the largest NNA month on record.
The research points out that the number of ETFs / ETPs in the U.S. that have over $1 billion in assets has increased during 2014 to 251, with new products launched by more providers in 2014 than in 2013.
Turning its focus to Europe, ETFGI’s research suggests that during 2014, the ETF / ETP industry in Europe too garnered a record level of $62 billion in NNA, breaking the prior full year NNA records. At the end of December 2014, the European ETF / ETP industry had 2,106 ETFs / ETPs with 6,376 listings, from 49 providers on 26 exchanges. ETFGI anticipates that the European ETF / ETP industry will break through the $500 billion milestone this year.
Last year also witnessed a new record in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan), with assets invested in ETFs / ETPs listed in the region hitting a new record of $118.3 billion at the end of 2014. While CSI has the largest amount of ETF / ETP assets, tracking its benchmarks at a 32.4% market share, FTSE stands in second place with a 17.5% market share, followed by Hang Seng with a 13.9% market share.
