U.S. ETF Assets Rise to $14.7T After $171.4B April Inflows

U.S.-listed exchange traded funds attracted $171.4 billion in net inflows in April, lifting assets under management to $14.7 trillion, a 10.5% increase from $13.3 trillion at the end of March, according to FactSet.

Equity ETFs accounted for $133 billion of the month’s flows, representing 77.5% of net new assets. Fixed income products added $31.3 billion, the smallest monthly inflow since last July. Year-to-date ETF inflows stood at $643.9 billion at the end of April.

Alternative ETFs drew $4.6 billion in April, currency funds took in $2.6 billion and asset allocation products added $907 million. Commodity ETFs had net outflows of $845.5 million, driven mainly by withdrawals from crude oil and precious metals funds.

Sector-level activity showed inflows to technology, financials, materials and communication services, while consumer staples, energy and utilities experienced net redemptions.

Issuers launched 93 new ETFs in April, 74 of them actively managed. Forty-two of the new funds were equity-focused, and 21 were in the alternatives category, including structured-note style products packaged as ETFs. Nicholas Wealth launched the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF (NGHT), which switches daily between bitcoin and U.S. Treasuries based on equity trading hours to target bitcoin’s overnight risk-and-return profile.

Eighty-nine ETFs have closed so far this year. The average lifespan of delisted funds was just over two years, and the shortest-lived ETF lasted 51 days. Many of the fastest closures involved leveraged or inverse single-stock ETFs.

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, noted, ‘While the number of ETF launches has climbed higher the last few years, some ETFs will have a short life. As the industry becomes more crowded it is important for asset managers to have a distribution plan to help educate investors about a new ETF and how it can fit into a broader portfolio.’

The April inflows set a new monthly high for U.S.-listed ETF assets.