• European-domiciled ETFs saw total net inflows of $17.8 billion in February, following $22.4 billion of inflows in the previous month1.
  • Equity products saw net inflows of $15.4 billion while fixed income strategies captured $3.4 billion.
  • Commodity ETFs and multi-asset strategies weathered net outflows of -$240 million and -$769 million, respectively, while alternatives ETFs saw inflows of nearly $10 million.

Total ETF market flows

European-listed ETF inflows continue in February

European ETF cumulative flows – cumulative 12 months by asset class ($ billion)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

Equity ETFs

Core equity inflows far outpace other equity ETF categories

Equity flows by category: Month to date ($ million)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024. The ‘segment’ category includes equity exposures which target specific market capitalisation segments, such as small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap. The ‘market access’ category includes difficult-to-access markets such as emerging markets. The ‘basket’ category includes strategies that combine several stocks as the underlying exposure, such as FAANG stocks.

Core equity ETFs were again the top contributor in February, adding $12.7 billion of net inflows and bringing YTD flows for the category to almost $25 billion. Sustainable strategies were the second-most popular category, garnering $2.9 billion in net inflows. Meanwhile, smart beta strategies suffered -$1.5 billion of net outflows during the month.

Investors favour world and US equity exposures 

Equity flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

World ETF exposures gathered net inflows of $4.9 billion in February, followed by the United States with $4.6 billion. The world and US categories have now amassed YTD totals of $9.3 billion and $12.0 billion, respectively. Europe and United Kingdom equity ETFs were the least popular categories last month, seeing -$344 million and -$267 million in net outflows, respectively.

Fixed income ETFs

Investors prefer ultra-short maturity and aggregate bond ETFs in February

Fixed income flows by category: Month to date ($ million)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

Ultra-short maturity bond ETFs captured $1.9 billion of net inflows in February, after taking in $2.1 billion of net inflows the previous month. Aggregate bond ETFs came in second with $1.1 billion and carried on a trend of positive flows from January. Corporate bond ETFs, on the other hand, saw -$440 million of net outflows in February, after topping the table with $3.3 billion the previous month. 

Investors move into US and global bond exposures

Fixed income flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

United States bond ETFs took in $2.2 billion of net inflows, following $1.7 billion of inflows in January. Global bond ETFs followed closely with $2.0 billion of net inflows, following inflows of $678 million the previous month. Meanwhile, emerging market bond ETFs suffered -$757 million of net outflows.

Vanguard UCITS ETFs

Vanguard range sees net inflows of $1.9 billion in February

Vanguard UCITS ETF net flows: Month to date ($ million)

Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $1.9 billion in February, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows. Inflows were split between Vanguard’s equity UCITS ETF range ($1.1 billion) and fixed income UCITS ETF range ($826 million), while the multi-asset UCITS ETF range saw net inflows of $34 million.

 

1 Source: ETFbook, as at 29 February 2024.

Important risk information

The value of investments, and the income from them, may fall or rise and investors may get back less than they invested.

Investments in smaller companies may be more volatile than investments in well-established blue chip companies.

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Some funds invest in securities which are denominated in different currencies. Movements in currency exchange rates can affect the return of investments.

For further information on risks please see the “Risk Factors” section of the prospectus.

Important information

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