Global ETF Industry Assets Reach $13.99 Trillion by August

ETFGI, a prominent independent research, events and consultancy firm specialising in providing subscription research on trends in the global ETFs industry, said that the assets invested in the global ETFs industry and reached a record of $13.99 trillion at the end of August.

The industry has reached another new milestone from 657 to 1,192 new products listed year-to-date through end of August and these new listings resulted in a net increase of 845 products after accounting for 347 closures. This surpasses the previous record of 1140 new ETFs listed year-to-date in 2021.

In all, the global ETFs had 12,677 products with 25,291 listings from 774 providers listed on 81 exchanges in 63 countries, according to the London-based ETFGI’s August 2024 global ETFs industry landscape insights report, which was released on Monday.

The global ETFs industry has had 63 months of consecutive net inflows and gathered a record $1.07 trillion in year-to-date net inflows. The ETF market has experienced a dynamic surge, with significant asset accumulation by newly launched ETFs.

The Top three ETFs highlights the dominance of cryptocurrency ETFs, with iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT US) holding $21.07 billion in assets, followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC US) with $13.25 billion and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC US) with $10.51 billion.

Reflecting the upswing in cryptocurrency investing since the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the US in January 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Ethereum ETFs for trading in July 2024.

Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE US) reached fifth place in the Top 25 by Asset with $4.53 billion and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETH (ETH US) ranked 17^th with $924.85 million, both launched by Grayscale Advisors on the NYSE, the report said.

An Array of Wide Opportunities

In addition to cryptocurrency focused ETF, the Top 25 list includes ETFs from various sectors such as high dividend, equity, active, and climate-related ETFs, demonstrating the wide range of investment opportunities available to investors at present. This analysis underscores the dynamic nature of the ETF industry and highlights the continued growth and diversification of the market. 

The US topped in the distribution of new launches with 403, and was followed by 390 in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), and 178 in Europe. The US reported the highest number of closures at 115, followed by the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) at 96, and Europe at 66 respectively.

The 1,192 new products were managed by 299 different providers, which are spread across 38 exchanges globally. iShares listed the largest number of new products 58, followed by Global X ETFs with 45 new launches and First Trust and Innovator ETFs with 31 new launches each.

There have been 347 closures from 117 providers across 24 exchanges. The newly listed products include 529 Active, 408 Equity, and 118 Fixed Income asset classifications. 

Compared to the five years for closures, the US recorded its most closures in 2020 with 174, while Europe had its highest closures of 108 in 2020, Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) saw 116 closures in 2023, and Canada reported 52 in 2023, the report said.