The Australian exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry shows no signs of slowing down, with 3 funds attracting nine-figure amounts from investors last month.
Investors put in the highest-ever amount of dollars into local ETFs in October, but some products fared far better than others.
A BetaShares report showed cash, bond and fixed interest ETFs featured prominently among the top 10 ETFs that saw the largest inflow of cash last month.
This perhaps indicated some anxiety with investors about the US election result and sky-high share valuations.
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Top 10 hottest Australian ETFs
| ETF | October 2020 inflow |
| iShares Core S&P/Asx 200 Etf (ASX: IOZ) | $326 million |
| Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) | $197.1 million |
| Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF (ASX: VBND) | $101.2 million |
| Vanguard Msci Index International Shares Etf (ASX: VGS) | $95.3 million |
| Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA) | $88.3 million |
| Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF (ASX: VAF) | $84.3 million |
| iShares Core Composite Bond ETF (ASX: IAF) | $77.5 million |
| Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) | $54 million |
| iShares S&P 500 AUD Hedged ETF (ASX: IHVV) | $51.7 million |
| Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA) | $50.3 million |
| Source: BetaShares; Table created by author | |
ETF pioneer Vanguard dominated the top of the charts.
Its Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF (ASX: VBND), Vanguard Msci Index International Shares Etf (ASX: VGS), and Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF (ASX: VAF) collectively brought in about $478 million for the company.
But the most attractive fund of October, iShares Core S&P/Asx 200 Etf (ASX: IOZ), alone pulled in a stunning $326 million of investor funds.
Top 10 coldest Australian ETFs
At the other end of the charts, foreign assets seemed to go out of favour with Australian ETF investors.
The trend could be a validation of the successful suppression of COVID-19 in Australia while the northern hemisphere copped a third wave as it headed into the colder months.
| ETF | October 2020 outflow |
| Ishares Edge MSCI World Multifactor ETF (ASX: WDMF) | $50.7 million |
| BetaShares Australian Resources Sector ETF (ASX: QRE) | $34.8 million |
| iShares MSCI South Korea ETF AUD (ASX: IKO) | $19.5 million |
| BetaShares Geared Australian Equity (Hedge Fund) (ASX: GEAR) | $7.06 million |
| iShares Core Cash ETF (ASX: BILL) | $7.02 million |
| BetaShares US Dollar ETF (ASX: USD) | $6.4 million |
| BetaShares Australian Equities Bear Hedge (ASX: BEAR) | $5.8 million |
| ETFS S&P/ASX 300 High Yield Plus ETF (ASX: ZYAU) | $3.6 million |
| iShares Europe ETF AUD (ASX: IEU) | $3.4 million |
| Platinum International Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund) (ASX: PIXX) | $2.8 million |
| Source: BetaShares; Table created by author | |
iShares Edge MSCI World Multifactor ETF (ASX: WDMF), iShares MSCI South Korea ETF AUD (ASX: IKO), BetaShares US Dollar ETF (ASX: USD), iShares Europe ETF AUD (ASX: IEU) and Platinum International Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund) (ASX: PIXX) all suffered significant outflows.
BetaShares itself had $34.8 million pulled out of its BetaShares Australian Resources Sector ETF (ASX: QRE), which was the 2nd highest amount.
It's often hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for outflows from a particular ETF, BetaShares head of strategy Ilan Israelstam told The Motley Fool.
"Investors will have their own motivations for increasing or reducing their positions," he said.
"On QRE in particular, our suspicion is that most of the selling was due to investors taking profits, given QRE was up around 34% from its lows in March."
Betashares and AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) recently closed down a trio of ETFs they jointly operate due to a lack of investor interest. Those funds will trade on the ASX for the last time on 4 December.
The last two months have been the only time in history that the Australian ETF industry saw more than $2 billion come inwards each month.
Local ETFs collectively manage $73.8 billion, which is another all-time record.
