Investors are shovelling cash into exchange traded funds that invest in a handpicked array of bonds, with record inflows since January that are pushing the industry towards its first $1tn annual haul.
Actively managed fixed-income ETFs took in $7bn in June and have garnered $41bn over the first half of 2024, surpassing 2023’s record of $33bn for the entire year, according to data from State Street Global Advisors, the third-largest US ETF issuer.
Most investors think of passive equity strategies such as index trackers when they think of ETFs — such as those made popular by SSGA, Vanguard and BlackRock, which comprise the bulk of the market — but active ETFs and bond ETFs in particular have been capturing a growing share of new money from investors in the $9tn US ETF industry.