Assets held in exchange-traded products in Europe will exceed $500 billion (€370 billion) by the early part of 2015 if current growth trends continue.
The prediction from BlackRock’s ETP Landscape report is based on figures that say European ETPs took in a net $25.8 billion in the first five months of the year. If this rate continues, inflows will easily exceed $50 billion this year, says the firm.
“With this blistering pace of asset gathering, and the broad economic recovery across Europe, the European ETP industry looks set for a blockbuster year,” says Ursula Marchioni, head of ETP research and equity strategy for iShares in Europe, Middle East and Africa. (iShares is BlackRock’s ETF business.)
In the global market, one interesting trend has been the popularity of fixed income ETPs, which gathered a net $40 billion globally this year.
Marchioni says fixed income ETPs have now reached $400 billion in assets, globally, a “milestone” figure.
“The speed of growth [in fixed income ETP inflows] has been particularly strong since the financial crisis as central banks put monetary stimulus into place,” she says.
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