ETFs are on track for another strong year with year-to-date inflows totaling $72.5 billion. This year’s inflows, which have pushed industry assets to more than $2.12 trillion, are more than simply about investors fearful of single stock risk, said David Mazza, Head of Research, SPDR ETFs and SSgA Funds. ‘It’s also just the growth of the ETF industry,’ said Mazza. ‘It continues because of the diversification benefits it offers, the liquidity and, of course, the transparency.’ According to Mazza, attractive valuations in international markets along with stimulative economic policies in Europe and Japan had ETF investors looking beyond U.S. borders during the first half of 2015. Currency Hedged ETFs and Broad International ETFs saw inflows of $34.5 billion and $13.4 billion respectively, according to SSgA. ‘People have been following the money but what they have really been following is the quantitative easing. And that’s what we’ve seen in Europe, in Japan and in particular when Mario Draghi comes out and says ‘we will do whatever it takes’ that’s where the money has flowed,’ said Mazza. ‘If you look at the valuation opportunities there, Europe actually continues to be favorable even though there is a lot of headline risk from Greece or wherever it might be from.’ Meanwhile, U.S. equity ETFs experienced outflows of $26.2 billion so far this year, even though the S&P is up nearly 3% and the U.S. economy is viewed as the strongest among developed markets.
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