Exchange traded products acquired a record $372bn (£255bn) in new assets in 2015, according to data from ETFGI’s year-end global insights report.
The high level of acquisition meant the industry’s purchasing of new assets increased by 10 per cent, comfortably surpassing the previous record of $338.3bn (£231.9bn) gathered in 2014.
December represented the 23rd consecutive month in which the industry saw positive net inflows, and was the strongest month of the year for asset gathering, with a total of $55bn (£37.7bn) obtained, according to EFTGI’s preliminary data.
The report showed there was growth on most fronts throughout the industry in 2015, with the number of ETPs rising from 5,550 to 6,146, while assets under management increased from $2.784 rn (£1.912trn) to $2.992trn (£2.055trn).
Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at EFTGI, said uncertainty and turbulence in the markets has encouraged the surge in asset acquisition.
She said: “The record level of asset gathering in 2015 shows that more investors are using ETFs/ETPs in more ways due to the market turmoil: retail is using more ETFs through robo-advisers, institutions are using ETFs as alternatives to futures, and financial advisers are using more ETFs especially in multi-asset portfolios.”
Last year Ms Fuhr predicted that assets invested in ETFs worldwide could reach US$7trn (£4.5trn) by 2020 and US$17trn (£10.9trn) by 2025.
