ETF Assets See Double-Digit Rise

Month over month, exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets rose $110 billion, up 11.5% in October.  

According to the State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) ETF Snapshot report, 1,148 ETFs—with assets totaling $1,064 billion—were managed by 37 ETF managers as of October 31, 2011.  

ETF flows topped $22 billion in October. The Size – Large Cap category had the most significant inflows with $5.4 billion entering the category. The Fixed Income category continued to see positive inflows attracting $4.3 billion in October and $33.5 billion year-to-date. 

International – Developed and Emerging Markets increased 9.6% and 13.3%, respectively. The domestic Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap markets all had a strong month, gaining 10.9%, 13.7%, and 15%. The U.S. Corporate bond market was positive, returning 1.5%, while the U.S. Treasury was negative, losing 0.8%. Commodities rose 9.7%. 

The top three managers in the U.S. ETF marketplace were: BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. Collectively, they account for approximately 83% of the U.S. listed ETF market. 

The top three ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR® S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and PowerShares QQQ [QQQ]. 

The ETF Snapshot report can be found at https://www.spdrs.com. 

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