Evening Brief – 04.08.24
New Record
U.S. ETFs racked up $195 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 60% increase compared with the $78 billion accumulated in the first quarter of the previous year, according to data from Morningstar Direct.
Active ETFs experienced significant growth, attracting around $66 billion in the first quarter, which surpassed the previous high of $41 billion achieved in the fourth quarter of 2023. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the most successful ‘active’ ETF, attracting $13.9 billion in investments. This surpassed the new spot bitcoin ETFs, which received over $27 billion, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which saw a loss of $14.8 billion.
Even excluding bitcoin ETFs, active ETFs generated about $53 billion in net inflows. Among them, the $7.2 billion BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation ETF (DYNF), which does not include bitcoin, drew the highest amount of capital at $6.7 billion.
U.S. equity ETFs attracted a substantial $93.5 billion in investments, accounting for almost 50% of the total amount flowing into these funds. While the current figure is lower than the $160 billion garnered in the fourth quarter of 2023, it surpassed all other quarters.
Large blend funds led the category, with investors allocating $32 billion in March alone, and $52 billion for the quarter. The most popular ETF was the $1 trillion Vanguard 500 Index ETF (VOO), which raised $24 billion.
Bonds had a somewhat modest but consistent performance during the quarter. Fixed income ETFs generated around $50 billion in flows, with taxable bonds contributing $49 billion. Investors demonstrated a preference for intermediate duration bonds, specifically the intermediate government and intermediate core bond categories, which attracted $11 billion and $10 billion, respectively.
In March, ETFs experienced the greatest inflows of the quarter, totaling $102.5 billion, which is more than double the $46 billion accumulated in February. None of the category groups in the U.S. saw outflows during the month.