ETF Industry Assets Grow in Q1 2016, New Flows Suffer Declines
- ETF growth across the industry in Q1 was fueled by the retail space, climbing to $2.3 trillion overall.

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a provider of investor communications and technology solutions, has released data for exchange-traded funds (ETF) in Q1 2016 having secured a healthy uptick in assets, according to a Broadridge statement.
The new world of Online Trading Online Trading Online trading represents the trading of fiat currencies, digital currencies, commodities, stocks and indices, where traders and investors intend to make a profit, via the purchase or sale of the aforementioned products. This is done through an electronic network, made accessible by brokers in the form of an online trading platform or hub.Online trading continues to see a rapid growth year on year, due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the number of brokers offering their services, with more mone Online trading represents the trading of fiat currencies, digital currencies, commodities, stocks and indices, where traders and investors intend to make a profit, via the purchase or sale of the aforementioned products. This is done through an electronic network, made accessible by brokers in the form of an online trading platform or hub.Online trading continues to see a rapid growth year on year, due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the number of brokers offering their services, with more mone Read this Term, fintech and marketing – register now for the Finance Magnates Tel Aviv Conference, June 29th 2016.
More specifically, during Q1 2016, ETF assets climbed by 2.4% QoQ to $2.3 trillion, which was fueled in part by retail channels, as calculated by its Fund Distribution Intelligence. However, this performance was mitigated by an overall net decline of new assets (-0.68%), which corresponded to a decrease of $15.0 billion.
In terms of the retail space, ETFs in this realm also saw increases in assets, namely across fixed income, alternative and commodity products, though equity, convertibles and allocation product assets were all down QoQ. Furthermore, retail channels also suffered from decreased assets in every major investment categories during Q1 2016, with the notable exception of commodities, buoyed by the volatile price of precious metals, namely gold and silver.
The picture was largely similar across net new flows for mutual funds, with total assets edging higher by 1.0% to $7.3 trillion during Q1 2016, despite seeing a loss of new assets of $11.0 billion.
Broadridge Financial utilizes a Fund Distribution Intelligence (FDI) tool – the utility helps aggregate a variety of information into a unified sales and asset data collection, tracking the performance of both mutual funds and ETF assets. The FDI tool collects data on a monthly basis, which is then analyzed by respective channel, geography, etc.
New ETF Flows Mixed
Gains were also realized amongst individual investors, having notched a growth in their respective holding – this was reflective of a $3.7 billion net new ETF assets coming from the discount brokerage channel. By extension, the wirehouse channel was the only retail channel to incur negative net new ETF flows during Q1 2016, decreasing $13 billion during the quarter.
According to Frank Polefrone, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Broadridge’s Access Data product suite in a recent statement on the metrics: “The trends we’ve been following for the past several quarters have continued – including the increased use of ETFs and passive investment products across retail distribution, as well as the growth of assets managed by independent advisors.”
“Our analysis indicates the Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term in the markets during the first quarter of 2016 resulted in increased velocity of money being reallocated within client portfolios,” he added.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a provider of investor communications and technology solutions, has released data for exchange-traded funds (ETF) in Q1 2016 having secured a healthy uptick in assets, according to a Broadridge statement.
The new world of Online Trading Online Trading Online trading represents the trading of fiat currencies, digital currencies, commodities, stocks and indices, where traders and investors intend to make a profit, via the purchase or sale of the aforementioned products. This is done through an electronic network, made accessible by brokers in the form of an online trading platform or hub.Online trading continues to see a rapid growth year on year, due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the number of brokers offering their services, with more mone Online trading represents the trading of fiat currencies, digital currencies, commodities, stocks and indices, where traders and investors intend to make a profit, via the purchase or sale of the aforementioned products. This is done through an electronic network, made accessible by brokers in the form of an online trading platform or hub.Online trading continues to see a rapid growth year on year, due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the number of brokers offering their services, with more mone Read this Term, fintech and marketing – register now for the Finance Magnates Tel Aviv Conference, June 29th 2016.
More specifically, during Q1 2016, ETF assets climbed by 2.4% QoQ to $2.3 trillion, which was fueled in part by retail channels, as calculated by its Fund Distribution Intelligence. However, this performance was mitigated by an overall net decline of new assets (-0.68%), which corresponded to a decrease of $15.0 billion.
In terms of the retail space, ETFs in this realm also saw increases in assets, namely across fixed income, alternative and commodity products, though equity, convertibles and allocation product assets were all down QoQ. Furthermore, retail channels also suffered from decreased assets in every major investment categories during Q1 2016, with the notable exception of commodities, buoyed by the volatile price of precious metals, namely gold and silver.
The picture was largely similar across net new flows for mutual funds, with total assets edging higher by 1.0% to $7.3 trillion during Q1 2016, despite seeing a loss of new assets of $11.0 billion.
Broadridge Financial utilizes a Fund Distribution Intelligence (FDI) tool – the utility helps aggregate a variety of information into a unified sales and asset data collection, tracking the performance of both mutual funds and ETF assets. The FDI tool collects data on a monthly basis, which is then analyzed by respective channel, geography, etc.
New ETF Flows Mixed
Gains were also realized amongst individual investors, having notched a growth in their respective holding – this was reflective of a $3.7 billion net new ETF assets coming from the discount brokerage channel. By extension, the wirehouse channel was the only retail channel to incur negative net new ETF flows during Q1 2016, decreasing $13 billion during the quarter.
According to Frank Polefrone, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Broadridge’s Access Data product suite in a recent statement on the metrics: “The trends we’ve been following for the past several quarters have continued – including the increased use of ETFs and passive investment products across retail distribution, as well as the growth of assets managed by independent advisors.”
“Our analysis indicates the Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term in the markets during the first quarter of 2016 resulted in increased velocity of money being reallocated within client portfolios,” he added.