Emerging Markets And Precious Metals Lead August ETF Inflows
In a report released by independent investment research provider, Morningstar Inc. (MORN), asset outflows from domestic equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) contributed to net outflows of $1.3 billion from U.S. ETFs in August, ending a six-month streak of consecutive monthly inflows.
Additional highlights from Morningstar’s report on ETF flows:
- Emerging markets continue to have appeal. International-stock ETFs had inflows of $4.4 billion, the highest of all asset classes for the second straight month, thanks to strong demand for emerging-markets ETFs. Over the trailing three-year period, emerging-markets ETFs have accounted for more than 61 percent of flows into the asset class.
- SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), the largest ETF in terms of net assets, saw outflows of $6.6 billion in August, as investors moved their assets into higher-yielding equity strategies, including defensive and dividend-paying sectors and preferred stock ETFs.
- iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (HYG) and SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (JNK), with inflows of $464 million and $332 million, respectively, led flows into junk bond ETFs, as investors took on more risk in search of more attractive yields in August. Short-term bond ETFs remained popular despite their unimpressive yields.
- Precious-metals ETFs, bolstered by inflows of $827 million into SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), were the most popular ETFs in the commodities asset class in August.
To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/augflows10.
Disclosure: No Positions
