Welcome to the newly updated monthly analysis of gold-backed ETFs and similar products, where you will find detailed information and insight on global trends of gold investment demand through ETFs.
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Regional fund flows
North American ETFs drove global inflows in August
North America led inflows in August, as investors added 27.8 tonnes (+$1.3bn, +2.6% AUM) of gold through funds listed in the region. Flows in Europe were mixed with a net increase of 6.4t (+$322mn, +0.78% AUM) over the month. Asia funds lost 2.4t (-$80mn, -3.0% AUM), with most of the gold-backed funds losing assets while derivatives demand increased through gold futures markets in the region. ETFs in other regions experienced minimal inflows.
The combined liquidity of gold ETFs rose month-over- month to $1.23bn/day, near its annual average of $1.22bn/day.
YTD
Aug 17
Individual fund flows
SPDR® Gold Shares, iShares Gold Trust and Source Physical Gold led flows in August.
In North America, SPDR® Gold Shares led inflows with +22.4t (+$1.03bn, +3.2% AUM), followed by iShares Gold Trust with +4.6t (+$266mn, +3.1% AUM). Other North American funds experienced minimal flows.
European inflows were driven by Source Physical Gold +5.6t (+$245mn, +5.5% AUM) and ETFs Physical Gold +2.1t (+$109mn, +1.9% AUM). Currency hedged funds had some of the stronger inflows and outflows as investors positioned for European currency-based versus US dollar movements in gold. Funds with exposure to the euro and Swiss franc experienced inflows, while two British pound-hedged funds experienced the largest outflows in the region, and across the gold-backed ETF universe worldwide. Notably, db Physical Gold GBP Hedged ETC lost 0.7t (-$26mn, -69% AUM).
Asian outflows were led by Chinese funds. Huaan Yifu Gold ETF lost 0.9t (-$29mn, -3.7% AUM), while E Fund Gold Tradable Open-end Securities Investment Fund lost 12% of Assets, Bosera Gold Exchange Trade Open-End Fund ETF lost 8% of its assets, and Guotai Gold ETF lost 36% of its assets or 0.50t.
Top 10 Flow
YTD
Aug 17
Bottom 10 Flows
YTD
Aug 17
Year-to-date trends
European gold-backed funds account for 79% of the global growth in 2017.
Global gold-backed ETFs collectively hold 2,295t. Gold-backed ETFs have added 143.5t, equivalent to $5.3bn so far this year. This represents an increase of 5.5% of global AUM.
Despite recent resurgence in North American demand, European funds continue to lead inflows (+131t, +$4.8bn, +12% AUM) accounting for nearly 79% of all inflows worldwide on the year. North America inflows are +22t (+$860mn, +2% AUM) on the year, while Asia outflows are 10t ($426mn, -16% AUM) on the year. Inflows for ETFs listed in other regions are +1.1t (+$62.9mn) on the year.
German-based ETFs Xetra-Gold and db Physical Euro Hedged ETC account for 73t or 56% of the gross global inflows. Xetra-Gold itself has grown 48%, accumulating 54t ($2.1bn).
Article by Gold.org
