The Markets January 12, 2011

U.S. ETF Assets Cross $1T Mark

At the end of December, U.S. ETF assets stood at $1.005 trillion – the first time U.S. ETF assets surpassed $1 trillion.
Reported by

Strategic Insight, an Asset International company, estimates that investors poured an additional $16 billion into U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in December 2010.   

Flows were driven by equity ETFs, while bond ETFs (with the exception of high-yield bond ETFs) saw net outflows, according to a press release. December’s inflows marked a rise from the $7 billion in net inflows that U.S. ETFs enjoyed in November.   

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December also capped another strong year for ETFs, as full-year inflows to U.S. ETFs totaled $109 billion – the fourth straight year that net inflows to ETFs topped $100 billion.  

“January often features net outflows from U.S. ETFs because of tax maneuvers and investors’ portfolio rebalancing, but U.S. ETF assets should hold at $1 trillion in February and continue their march toward $2 trillion,” said Loren Fox, senior research analyst at Strategic Insight, in a press release. “In 2011, we expect more news in the non-traditional ETF front, including more demand for ‘alternative’ ETFs, and more launches of actively managed ETFs.”

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