According to a report by National Bank Financial Inc. an “impressive” $8 billion flowed into Canadian ETFs in October, the second-largest monthly inflow recorded this year.
This brings year-to-date inflows to $56.6 billion, surpassing the previous record of annual inflows of $52.5 billion set in 2021.
And if ETF inflows continue at this pace, they could exceed $70 billion by the end of the year, according to the bank’s monthly research report.
All fund categories saw strong inflows in October, with the exception of cryptocurrency ETFs.
Stocks lead the way with $4 billion in net new assets, with almost equal amounts flowing into stocks in Canada, the U.S. and globally.
Fixed-income ETFs attracted $3.1 billion in October.
There were modest outflows from long-term bonds and money market ETFs, while the broad-based Canadian aggregate bond category recorded $1.9 billion in flows, led by CI Global Asset Management’s CI Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (TSX: CAGG). The report noted that the fund underwent an index and name change earlier this year.
Of all maturities, ultra-short-term bond ETFs saw the largest percentage increase in flows.
Meanwhile, commodity ETFs saw inflows of $49 million, mainly through gold ETFs.
Cryptoasset ETFs saw $81 million in redemptions in October. The category has lost $483 million so far this year.
ESG ETFs saw monthly net inflows of $124 million, which the report said was a positive start to the fourth quarter after two consecutive quarters of net outflows in the category. The funds have lost $1.5 billion since the beginning of the year.
Additionally, 15 new ETF funds listed in Canada hit the market in October, including four funds from Capital Group Canada and two from JP Morgan Asset Management. These funds mark the companies’ entry into the Canadian ETF market.
All of the 15 new funds are actively managed, except for the BMO MSCI EAFE High Quality Index ETF (TSX: ZIQ), which tracks the MSCI EAFE Quality Index.
