ETFs suffer US$5bn net redemptions - Global ETF FlowWatch - March 2020

Due to the pandemic and market uncertainty, ETFs worldwide suffered US$5 billion in net redemptions, during the end of March 2020. Notably, bond ETFs declined significantly with nearly US$45 billion in outflows. Equity and commodity ETFs, however, garnered US$26 billion and US$14 billion, respectively. Aggregate global ETF assets under management dropped to US$5.339 trillion.

In the U.S., investors redeemed nearly US$30 billion from bond ETF products. On the other hand, equity ETFs managed to gain US$7 billion in net flows, mainly driven by significant inflows of US$23 billion into Equity-Large Cap. Commodity and other ETF products surged with nearly US$10 billion in net subscriptions, primarily pushed by the Alt-Leverage/Inverse category which garnered nearly US$8 billion in net new money.

ETFs in Asia soared with US$27 billion in net new cash during March, led by Equity Japan with almost US$10 billion in net flows. Equity ETFs in Asia accounted for the bulk of the inflows, while bond and commodity ETF products offset each other with nearly US$2 billion in redemptions and US$2 billion in subscriptions, respectively. ETFs in Europe suffered almost across the board with US$26 billion in net redemptions for equity and bond ETFs together. On the other hand, commodity ETFs in Europe gathered US$2 billion in net flows.

Yinhua CSI Brand Name Drug Industry Index ETF was the largest ETF new launch in March, accumulating US$700 million in net flows. The ETF tracks the CSI Brand Name Drug Industry Index and is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange.