In this wave of capital inflow, the USA occupies a central position, attracting over $1 trillion in funds, as traders bet that Wall Street stocks will rebound strongly. According to the data from the research institution ETFGI, this growth is mainly due to investors shifting on a large scale from mutual funds to ETFs, particularly active ETFs, leveraged ETFs, and ETFs focusing on government and corporate debt.
Global ETF assets are soaring, prompting asset management companies to apply for adding ETF products to existing mutual funds.
On December 12th local time, the Financial Times reported that global ETF assets had surged to $15 trillion. In this wave of capital inflow, the USA occupies a central position, attracting over $1 trillion in funds, as traders bet that Wall Street stocks will rebound strongly.
According to the data from the research institution ETFGI, this growth is mainly due to investors shifting on a large scale from mutual funds to ETFs. This year, investors have poured $1.7 trillion into ETFs, resulting in a 30% growth in the industry's total assets compared to 2023, while mutual funds have lost about $2 trillion in assets over the past three years.
Currently, Blackrock, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab are the three giant Global ETF providers, managing large ETFs tracking the S&P 500 Index. In addition to index-tracking ETFs, leveraged ETFs are also experiencing a significant inflow of funds, as they allow traders to double down on stocks like Tesla, chip stocks, and Bitcoin.
Active ETFs and ETFs focusing on government and corporate bonds are also quite popular. Analysts believe that currently investors are not only passively tracking indices but also using ETFs to expand into more diverse strategies.
Daniil Shapiro, Managing Director of Product Development Practice at consulting firm Cerulli Associates, stated that ETFs have the characteristics of low cost, strong innovation, and excellent fit in various investment portfolios:
"ETF structures are becoming the 'universal structure' of the investment management industry."
However, the size of mutual funds in the United States is still much larger than that of ETFs, with total assets under management amounting to $21.6 trillion - after all, mutual funds are widely used in retirement accounts.
Shelly Antoniewicz, Chief Economist at the Investment Company Institute, expects asset management companies to shift towards a new balance:
"They will ultimately give the decision power to investors, allowing investors to decide which (mutual funds or ETFs) is more attractive to them and which meets their needs better."
Currently, over 30 asset management companies have submitted applications to regulatory agencies to add ETFs to existing mutual funds. Due to Trump's previous commitment to reducing regulations, the market is currently optimistic about this application. Shapiro stated:
"The industry holds very optimistic views on these products receiving lenient (regulatory) measures in the coming year."