The division iShares di BlackRock led the global ETF industry in 2016, setting a new record by inflows of 140 billion dollars, for an organic growth of 13%. This sum is composed mainly of investments in bond ETFs, Core and Smart Beta and allows the company to reach global assets under management, as of December 31, 2016, of 1.300 billion dollars.
Overall, the global ETF industry recorded net inflows of $375 billion in 2016, exceeding the $348 billion total in the prior year (source: BlackRock based on Markit and Bloomberg data as of 30/12/16).
In terms of growth, iShares has established a new record in the USA (net inflows of $107 billion versus $97 billion in 2015) and in Europe (32 billion dollars), confirming its leadership of the equity market in both regions (38% in the USA and 61% in Europe). Even in the Asia-Pacific area, BlackRock points out, iShares ETFs reached all-time highs during the year, earning more than $10 billion in new assets.
"In a year marked by unprecedented political change and periods of significant market uncertainty, investors have set new records," said Mark Wiedman, global head of iShares and BlackRock's Index Investments. with respect to the market and to look for sources of outperformance and long-term investment opportunities”.
- Bond ETFs of iShares have raised unprecedented investments totaling $60 billion, equivalent to 52% of all net inflows into fixed income ETFs globally, with record net inflows in both the US ($38 billion) and Europe (21 billion dollars).
The application for Smart Beta ETFs of iShares soared to new highs globally, with net inflows of $20 billion. iShares ranked No. 37 in global equity smart beta (9%) thanks to $XNUMX billion of net investment in minimum volatility ETFs.
- Core ETFs of iShares achieved a record global net inflow of $67 billion. After BlackRock repriced its iShares Core ETFs in the US in October, investments have reached $27 billion.
In that regard, institutional investors looking for simpler and cheaper alternatives to derivatives have moved about $10 billion in iShares ETFs from swap or futures positions.
“In our opinion, this it's just the beginning of a historic transition to ETFs and indexing strategies in the broadest sense – concludes Wiedman – Indeed, we believe that in the coming years we will see a shift of billions and billions of dollars, as the adoption of ETFs by institutional investors and on fees in the retail sector will gain momentum. Investors will continue to pursue aspects such as the efficiency, quality and value of indexing to implement short- and long-term strategies."
