ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm, reported that the global ETFs industry gathered net inflows of $30.96 billion during January. This marks the 44th consecutive month of inflows for the ETFs segment, with assets invested increasing by 5.9% from $9.26 trillion at the end of December to $9.81 trillion.[0] Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered net inflows of $23.11 billion during January, while Fixed income ETFs/ETPs reported net inflows of $23.36 billion during the same period. Commodities ETFs/ETPs reported net inflows of $330 million, and Active ETFs/ETPs attracted net inflows of $10.49 billion.
The top 20 ETFs ranked by net inflows collectively gathered $40.00 billion during January, with iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG US) gathering $3.63 billion, the largest individual net inflow.[1] iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) also saw substantial inflows, with the former gathering $2.12 billion and the latter gathering $2.42 billion.[0]
The Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, the highest rate since October 2007.[2] This marked the eighth increase in rates since March 2022.[3] ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD) saw a 40% increase in assets, while Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) gathered $2.65 billion.[4]
The past week was also marked with key tech earnings, with Apple Inc. (AAPL) posting its biggest year-over-year quarterly revenue decline since 2019, and Amazon (AMZN) posting its least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 and its biggest-ever annual loss as a public company. Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms (META) reported solid fourth-quarter 2022 results, out-pacing revenue and earnings estimates.[3]
Although U.S. retail sales for the month of December came in downbeat, a less-hawkish Federal Reserve and a decline in rates as well as energy prices this year are likely to boost consumer savings and their ability to shell out more on discretionary items.[3]
0. “Global ETFs attracted $30B in January; fixed income, value stocks among big winners” Seeking Alpha, 13 Feb. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3935179-globally-listed-etfs-inject-30b-during-the-month-of-january
1. “Global ETFs Had Net Inflows of $31bn” Markets Media, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.marketsmedia.com/global-etfs-had-net-inflows-of-31bn/
2. “Currency ETFs Serving as Commodity Proxies” ETF.com, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.etf.com/sections/features-and-news/currency-etfs-serving-commodity-proxies
3. “Top-Performing ETF Areas of Last Week” Zacks Investment Research, 7 Feb. 2023, https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2050785/top-performing-etf-areas-of-last-week
4. “Best Inverse/Leveraged ETFs of Last Week” Yahoo! Voices, 6 Feb. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/now/best-inverse-leveraged-etfs-last-130001725.html