BlackRock captured nearly a third of ETF market inflows in Q1, well below its overall market share.
The US giant saw a dip in fixed income demand, a key driver behind the firm’s $71bn of inflows in 2023.
Gains were instead led by US equity ETFs, with the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (CSPX) pulling in $4.7bn inflows in Q1.
DWS followed with $8.3bn of inflows while Vanguard recorded $6bn in new assets.
Robust equity inflows propelled overall European ETP investments to $52bn.
JP Morgan Asset Management continued to dominate in the active space securing $3.8bn in inflows for the quarter, pushing its total assets under management to $25bn.
ETFs dominate French insurance
A report published by Quantalys Harvest Group and BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) found that ETFs now feature in half of all French life insurance contracts.
There was a 6% increase in life insurance contract incorporating at least one ETF in 2023.
Single contracts holding more than 50 ETFs rose to 16%.
BNPP AM said that the trend is likely to continue into 2024, buoyed by the recent approval of active ETFs listing on Euronext Paris.
Alongside the uptake from life insurance contracts, the number of retail investors using ETFs in the country hit record highs in 2023, growing by 18% year-on-year.
ETF Stream beats benchmarks
ETF Stream's portfolio outshined standard multi-asset allocations in Q1, reaching a 5.3% return compared to the global 60/40 benchmark's 4.8%, despite unexpected market trends and unmaterialised midcap comebacks.
The portfolio's equity segment – led by a 20% allocation in the JPM US Research Enhanced Index Equity (ESG) UCITS ETF – exceeded expectations by gaining 11.6%, while strategic currency hedging in Japanese equities resulted in a standout 18.1% increase.
ETF Wrap is a weekly digest of the top stories on ETF Stream
