U.S. ETF Assets Hit $8.9T Record on Market Gains: ETFGI
U.S. exchange-traded funds reached a record $8.87 trillion in assets at the end of the first quarter as investors poured money into ETFs to capture the gains in rising markets, London-based researcher ETFGI said.
Investors poured $232.2 billion into ETFs over the quarter, including $103.2 billion in March alone, according to ETFGI’s ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report.
The new record beats the previous $8.54 trillion benchmark set at the end of February. Industry assets have increased 9.3% year-to-date. March also marked the 23rd month of consecutive inflows into ETFs.
The industry's growth has been spurred by the stock market recovery over the past year that itself has been fueled by A.I-driven tech gains. Assets in ETFs have inflated from an increase in value and investors flocking to the equity markets trying to ride the bull market wave. The S&P 500 increased by 3.2% in March and is overall up by 11% year-to-date, according to ETFGI.
"Investors have tended to invest in equity ETFs during March," ETFGI founder and managing partner Deborah Fuhr said in the statement. Fuhr is a member of the etf.com editorial advisory board.
Outside of the U.S., international markets have also recovered. The emerging markets index increased by 1.5% over the course of March and 2% year-to-date, the statement said.
Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs
Over the course of March, S&P 500 ETFs saw the bulk of new inflows. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) were the top two funds in terms of highest net inflows. SPY gathered $14 billion in March, while Vanguard accrued $8 billion over the month.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw $6 million in inflows in March—the third-highest of any ETF. Collectively, the ten novel spot bitcoin ETFs that have been trading since January have accrued about $60 billion in assets under management.
Contact Lucy Brewster at lucy.brewster@etf.com.