ETFs See Widespread Gains in March

State Street Global Advisors’ latest report on the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market covering March activity found that 10 of 12 ETF categories gained in absolute terms.

According to the report, the Size and International categories accounted for 57% of the $54 billion in assets gained overall with bond ETFs leading in assets gained year to date, up $10.5 billion.  

Other highlights of the ETF report include:

  • Large cap had by far the largest gain in equity assets, climbing $12.9 billion, followed by mid cap, up $2.5 billion. In terms of performance, Small and Mid Cap rose 8% and 7.7%, respectively.
  • Performance was relatively close between growth and value across each size segment. Year-to-date, value is outperforming growth in all size categories. 
  • REITs, Financials, and Technology all had over $1 billion in asset gains for the month.
  • The top three U.S. ETF managers in March were: BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. Collectively, they accounted for approximately 84% of the U.S.-listed ETF market.
  • The top three U.S. ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and PowerShares QQQ [QQQQ].
  • The SPDR S&P 500 ETF [SPY] saw the most inflows, up $3.5 billion, followed by SPDR Gold Shares [GLD], up $828 million.

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