- In Q1, European-domiciled ETFs gathered net inflows of $51.6 billion, as equity and fixed income ETFs added $39.5 billion and $13.1 billion, respectively.
- Strong positive market sentiment continued in March with exposures to US and world equity capturing the bulk of the net inflows.
- The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $1.6 billion in March, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows.
Monthly recap: Investors continue to favour core equities as markets rise
Amid broadly rising equity markets and positive sentiment, risk-on investors continued to pour assets into core equity ETF exposures in March, capping three straight months of net inflows for that category and for European-listed equity ETFs in general. However, the total net inflows for equities moderated somewhat in March compared with the preceding two months. On a regional basis, US and world equity ETF exposures captured the bulk of the net inflows in March and across Q1.
Fixed income ETFs overall also saw three months of net inflows, although, similar to equity markets, March saw the lowest total of the three months for bond ETF inflows. Investors favoured ultra-short maturity and high-yield bond ETFs in Q1 while, on a regional basis, eurozone and US exposures proved popular. Emerging market bond ETF exposures, meanwhile, endured three straight months of outflows to start the year.
Commodity ETFs picked up net inflows of $266 million in March but finished Q1 with net outflows of -$84 million. Alternatives ETFs and multi-asset ETFs both endured outflows in March and finished the quarter with net outflows of -$26 million and -$813 million, respectively.
Total ETF market flows
European-listed ETF inflows continue in March
European ETF cumulative flows – cumulative 12 months by asset class ($ billion)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2024.
Equity ETFs
Investor appetite for core equity exposure on full display
Equity flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 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.
Almost all equity ETF categories gathered net inflows in March. Core equity ETFs again topped the table, attracting $7.8 billion of net inflows—nearly seven times the amount of the next most popular category, ETFs defined by market cap segment, which gathered $1.1 billion. Year to date, core equity ETFs have now tallied net inflows of $32.6 billion. Sector ETFs added $492 million of net inflows in March, while thematic ETFs weathered net outflows of -$214 million.
US and world equity exposures again lead inflows
Equity flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2024. The ‘world’ category excludes emerging markets.
United States ETF exposures gathered net inflows of $3.3 billion in March, followed by world ETF exposures with $3.0 billion. The US and world categories have now amassed YTD totals of $15.3 billion and $12.3 billion, respectively, with three straight months of net inflows each. Eurozone ETFs also attracted net inflows, adding $1.6 billion in March. Investors cooled towards Canada ETFs, as the category saw -$1.0 billion of net outflows, while Europe and Denmark ETFs weathered net outflows of -$796 and -$416, respectively.
Fixed income ETFs
Ultra-short maturity and high-yield ETFs see strong flows in March
Fixed income flows by category: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2024.
Ultra-short maturity bond ETFs captured $1.8 billion of net inflows in March, finishing Q1 with three months of positive flows for a total of $5.8 billion. High-yield ETFs posted net inflows of $740 million in March and also had net inflows each month in Q1, finishing with a total of $2.4 billion. Corporate bond ETFs weathered net outflows of -$1.2 billion in March while government bond ETFs lost -$437 million.
Positive flows trend continues across eurozone, global and US bond ETFs
Fixed income flows by geographic exposure: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2024.
Eurozone bond ETFs saw three straight months of net inflows in Q1 for a total of $7.2 billion, after adding $692 million in March. Global and United States bond ETFs also posted net inflows each month of Q1, finishing with total net inflows of $3.1 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively. At the other end of the flows spectrum, emerging market bond ETFs weathered three consecutive months of net outflows in Q1, finishing the period down -$1.5 billion.
Vanguard UCITS ETFs
Vanguard range sees net inflows of $1.6 billion in March
Vanguard UCITS ETF net flows: Month to date ($ million)
Source: ETFbook, as at 31 March 2024.
The Vanguard UCITS ETF range captured net inflows of $1.6 billion in March, with the majority of ETFs in the range recording positive flows. Inflows were split between Vanguard’s equity UCITS ETF range ($1.3 billion) and fixed income UCITS ETF range ($349 million), while the multi-asset UCITS ETF range saw net inflows of $19 million.
Related ETFs
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