ETFs swell despite COVID-19’s impact

Article Excerpt

Canadian ETF assets under management totalled $211.4 billion by the end of May, 19% more than 12 months earlier. So far this year, stock market ETFs have attracted $12.7 billion followed by fixed-income funds. They attracted $4.0 billion in inflows. Despite the economic uncertainty associated with COVID-19, Canadian ETFs attracted inflows of $2.4 billion in May. Most of the money flowed into stock market ETFs; within that category, funds with international exposure attracted the biggest share, while the financial and resources sectors also saw increases. ETFs that offer exposure to gold bullion and gold stocks continued to receive large inflows. The second- and third-largest-ever monthly gains were, in fact, in April and May. In the U.S. ETF market, net flows amounted to $144 billion this year, up to the end of May. That’s more than double the inflows for the same 2019 period. Net inflows for May alone were $23 billion, bringing total assets under management to $4.3 trillion. In May, fixed-income…