The Markets August 7, 2014

ETFs Worldwide Collect $33B in June

During June, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worldwide collected $33 billion in net flows, $10 billion higher than the prior month, according to a report from Strategic Insight (SI).
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The June “ETF FlowWatch” report from SI, an Asset International company, also finds that for June, equity ETFs from the U.S., Europe and Asia raised $34 billion, of which $24 billion came from the U.S. Bond and ‘other’ ETFs saw slight redemptions, while mixed ETF flows remained flat for the month.

At the category level, equity U.S.-large cap and mid/small cap ETFs led with $9.5 billion and $4 billion, respectively, followed by equity global-large cap ($3.3 billion), equity Taiwan ($3.1 billion) and equity emerging market ($2.6 billion).

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Two Taiwan ETFs, Yuanta/P-shares MSCI Taiwan ETF and Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 ETF, collectively gathered $2.9 billion. Meanwhile, Bond USD, the top selling category in May ($7.7 billion), experienced outflows of $1.4 billion in June.

Forty-eight new ETFs launched in June garnered more than $2 billion in net flows. China GF CSI Consumer Index ETF was the top selling new ETF in June, attracting $140 million. Two U.S. large cap ETNs (exchange-traded notes) associated with Fisher Investments, UBS AG FI Enhanced Large Cap Growth ETN and CreditSuisse Fl Large Cap Gr Enhanced ETN, each raised more than $500 million in the United States.

State Street launched nine smart beta ETFs that track various MSCI Indexes (World, Emerging Markets, Spain, Japan etc); The MSCI Quality Mix Indexes are equally weighted across the MSCI Value Weighted, MSCI Minimum Volatility and MSCI Quality Indexes.

The full June report can be found here and is available to nonsubscribers of SI materials.

More information about Strategic Insight can be found at http://www.sionline.com.

Data & Research August 7, 2014

Smartphone Use Soars for Plan Participants

Retirement plan participants find they can take it with them, as smartphone use overtakes usage of PCs and Macs, according to a study by Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner.
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Mobile tech usage dips in contrast to rising age, with the younger demographics the biggest users of smartphones, according to Spectrem’s study, “DC participant Mobile Technology Usage.”

A majority of defined contribution (DC) plan participants—eight in ten—report using a smartphone with Internet access and applications (apps), which is slightly higher than PC/Mac users (78%). Tablet and e-reader use lags both, at just 62% of respondents.

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Smartphone use by DC plan participants is up significantly from last year’s 71%, while PC/Mac usage shows a faint increase (79%). Tablet and e-reader use, on the other hand, is trending upward. In 2013, usage on these devices was 57%.

It’s no surprise that the youngest respondents in the study show the highest use of smartphones, at 91% of those under 35. Survey respondents between 35 and 49 are still heavy users, at 82%. Use drops as age rises: just 74% of people over the age of 50 use a smartphone. Tablet and e-reader use also dips with age. At least two-thirds of DC plan participants use them, but just 53% of those over the age of 50 use them. Age is not a significant factor in PC/Mac use, with80% of those under 35, compared with 78% of their older counterparts.

Male plan participants are more old-school than women when it comes to mobile technology. Eight-five percent use a PC or Mac versus. 71% of women, while 63% of women use a tablet or e-reader, compared with 61% of men.  

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