Currency focused ETFs help June see large spike in ETF Launches

• 43 funds were launched in June, a 60% rise in new launches compared to May
• 23 funds were launched in the Americas, 12 in Europe and 8 in the APAC region
• 11 funds were launched by State Street, 9 funds by BlackRock and 7 were added by ETF Securities

June New Listings

While it is no surprise to see the majority of the funds launched in the United States (22) and the United Kingdom (11), six South Korean listed funds were launched in June, helping grow the Asian market which remains a large potential growth area. The newly launched funds in South Korea focused on financials, tech and also foreign markets such as Germany and Japan.

Noting that KStar Short-Term MSB ETF, a South Korean fund launched in May, saw the largest inflows since inception versus other funds launched in May, investors may be looking towards Asian markets for greater growth opportunity.

Four funds were added with a geographic focus on Japan, including iShares MSCI Japan Minimum Volatility ETF and SPDR MSCI Japan Quality Mix ETF.

May Flows

European funds launched in May saw massive inflows. All nine of the equity funds launched had positive growth and brought $236m in new assets to Europe, beating both the Americas and APAC.

Amundi's global smart beta ETF was successful in gaining $99m since inception over a month ago, just edging out db x-trackers MSCI USA ETF for the largest inflows in Europe for funds launched in May.

Merk Gold Trust took the top spot in the Americas with inflows of $50m, which launched in time to catch the gold bump that occurred during June. Outside of gold, iShares saw large inflows into their newly launched UAE and Qatar funds.

Out of all the funds launched in May, KStar Short-Term MSB ETF had the largest inflows since inception, gaining $122m in new assets in less than two months.

Actively managed funds had inflows of $20m as new strategies and innovation help fuel the space.

James Hohorst

Associate

Markit

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