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MARCH 2021: RAISE THE BAT! INDUSTRY BLASTS THROUGH THE $100B MARK
The Australian ETF industry now exceeds $100 billion in funds under management (FUM), topping the milestone figure for the first time just three months after the end of a record-breaking 2020. The milestone was met after a very strong month for growth, driven by a combination of asset price appreciation, a large unlisted fund conversion and solid net flows. Read on for more details, including best performers, asset flow categories and more.
Australian ETP Market Cap: August 2001 – March 2021
Source: ASX, Chi-X, BetaShares.
Market cap
- ASX Exchange Traded Product market cap: $102.9B1 – all time end of month high, breaking through the $100B milestone
- Market cap change for month: 5.7%, $5.6B
- Market cap growth for the last 12 months: 80%, + $45.7B – all time high, fastest yearly growth on record
Comment: Now standing at an all-time high of $102.9B, the industry has added ~$8 billion in the first quarter of 2021. The industry’s market cap grew by a rapid 5.7%, bringing industry growth over the last 12 months to 80%, which represents absolute growth of $46B over this period. This represents the most rapid growth over a 12 month period in the industry’s history (includes large conversion of Magellan’s Global Fund in November 2020).
1. Includes total FuM for ETFs trading on both ASX and Chi-X
New money
- Net new money for month (units outstanding by % value): +$1.3B
Products
- 265 Exchange Traded Products trading on the ASX and Chi-X.
Comment: Seven new products launched, including BetaShares Climate Change Innovation ETF (ASX: ERTH)
Trading value
- ASX ETF trading value declined slightly by 5% vs. the previous month.
Comment: Trading value remained high, declining slightly (5%) month on month, but remaining above the $7B mark
Performance
- From a performance perspective, we saw for the second month in a row continued outperformance from value-oriented exposures. The best performing fund was a Palladium exposure, along with strong gains in U.S. oriented exposures. The value-tilted BetaShares Global Income Leaders ETF (ASX: INCM) performed well (~10% for the month), as did our Geared U.S. Equity Fund.
Top 5 category inflows (by $) – March 2021
| Category | Inflow Value |
| Australian Equities | $618,968,086 |
| International Equities | $618,780,900 |
| Fixed Income | $124,550,233 |
| Multi-Asset | $102,665,834 |
| Australian Listed Property | $47,209,907 |
Comment: As they have for the year to date, equities once again led the way for inflows. This month we saw an even split of interest in Australian Equities ($618m of flows) and Global Equities ($618m).
Top 5 category outflows (by $) – March 2021
| Category | Outflow Value |
| Cash | ($125,061,936) |
| Commodities | ($77,868,349) |
| Short | ($1,749,460) |
Source: Bloomberg, BetaShares.
Source: Bloomberg, BetaShares.
Top sub-category inflows (by $) – March 2021
| Sub-Category | Inflow Value |
| Australian Equities – Broad | $520,874,507 |
| International Equities – Sector | $189,108,519 |
| International Equities – Developed World | $137,404,235 |
| Multi-Asset | $102,665,834 |
| International Equities – Emerging Markets | $97,862,805 |
Top sub-category outflows (by $) – March 2021
| Sub-Category | Outflow Value |
| Cash | ($125,061,936) |
| Silver | ($46,911,007) |
| Gold | ($23,442,137) |
| Australian Equities – Short | ($11,399,643) |
| Australian Equities – High yield | ($9,530,350) |
Comment: Outflows came from cash and precious metals exposures (silver and gold), which saw negative performance in the month of March.
With the $100B milestone passed, we take the opportunity to revise our forecast for the industry’s growth for the remainder of 2021: we believe the industry will grow a further 25% over the rest of the year amid strong investor demand to end the year at ~$125B.
Thanks very much for the heads up on INCM – it had been beneath my radar before this. I had GGUS on my watch list, but thanks for confirming it’s rise. I classify it with other geared funds, and BEAR type funds as “gamblers funds”, especially as the results of the huge US bond sales were impossible to predict – by me at least.
I REALLY appreciate your inclusion of good fund performers, and what to watch out for, as I’m developing a new comparison workbook.