A fine year for ETFs

The special report featuring winners in this year’s US awards is published with many of the interviewees noting that 2024 is proving to be a standout year for flows into ETFs. This is true globally but particularly in the US, with Matthew Bartolini, the head of Americas ETF research at State Street Global Advisors talking to Peter Taberner about just how successful this year is proving to be for our industry. Bartolini reflects: "Based on some of the projection models that I have been running all year, we are forecasting that we will cross the USD1 trillion mark [full year inflows] by 9 December.

"This is a huge milestone for the industry, given that mutual funds have had USD277 billion of outflows, it really reflects investors’ buying behaviour utilising ETFs as a tool."

A lot of those inflows are crypto-driven, with crypto returns dominating the top performing ETFs data from Trackinsight and bitcoin sailing off through the USD90,000s.

This week saw the FCA reporting that crypto ownership in the UK has continued to rise as it delivers plans to regulate the industry in the country.

The FCA research found that awareness of crypto has risen from 91 per cent to 93 per cent, and the average value of crypto held by people increased from GBP1,595 to GBP1,842.

Currently, crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK and, the FCA writes, high-risk. "If something goes wrong, it is unlikely you will be protected so you should be prepared to lose all your money," the FCA says.

The Authority has published its roadmap for regulating the sector, with Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, saying: "Our research results highlight the need for clear regulation that supports a safe, competitive, and sustainable crypto sector in the UK. We want to develop a sector that embraces innovation and is underpinned by market integrity and consumer trust."

Beverly Chandler, Managing Editor

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