Facts, Facts and More Facts: 2012 ETF Wrap-up

Canadian-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) ended 2012 with sales and assets at record highs. Assets expanded by close to one third to end the year at $56.4 billion. The annual net creations reached $12.0 billion. This is the highest yearly intake on record and close to double the previous high-water mark of $6.9 billion recorded in 2011.

The fixed income category was responsible for the bulk of ETF sales during 2012. Fixed income ETFs finished the year with $12.5 billion in assets, growing by nearly 50% over the period. Fixed income net creations amounted to $6.2 billion or more than half of the segment’s 2012 total result. Equity funds wrapped up the year with $5.5 billion in net creations, well ahead of the previous year’s intake. On the backdrop of improving global equity markets, equity ETF assets expanded by 22% after a flat 2011.

All major ETF sponsors ended 2012 in positive net creation territory. Six of the seven firms that offer ETFs in Canada posted new records in terms of asset growth and net creations. BMO led all sponsors with $5.0 billion in net creations, closely followed by BlackRock with $4.9 billion. For more information, see our Q4 2012 ETF and Index Fund Report which now includes a quarterly update of detailed ETF holdings by distribution channel http://investoreconomics.com/issue/insight-etf-and-index-funds-report. Posted by John Skinner John@iei.ca.