US equities provide rocket fuel for record ETF flows in November

All roads led to Wall Avenue in November because the US fairness market dominated a document month for the worldwide trade traded fund business.

Web flows into ETFs globally hit $205bn in final month, in keeping with BlackRock, outstripping the earlier document of $199bn set in July.

But US fairness ETFs accounted for a document $149bn of this — nicely forward of the earlier peak of $98.5bn in December 2023 — as nearly each different nook of the funding universe was floor into the mud by the onward march of Wall Avenue.

Mounted revenue ETFs pulled in an anaemic $35.1bn, comfortably beneath October’s $49.9bn, whereas commodity ETFs suffered internet outflows of $3.6bn as traders pulled cash out for the primary time since April.

Non-US fairness markets had been equally out of favour, with $5.1bn stripped from European fairness ETFs, $2.9bn from Japanese inventory funds and $3.8bn from their rising market friends — the primary time all three markets have recorded concurrent month-to-month outflows since Could 2019, in keeping with BlackRock.

The surge into the US inventory market was pushed by Donald Trump’s clear victory within the US presidential election, which constructed on already sturdy market momentum.

November was a “historic month”, stated Karim Chedid, head of funding technique for BlackRock’s iShares within the Emea area, with “the massive theme rerisking from traders in a month the place we’ve had readability across the end result of the US election”.

Chedid stated this constructed on sturdy sentiment emanating from the lately concluded earnings season, which delivered 7 per cent year-on-year earnings, comfortably forward of subdued expectations of three per cent, alongside a widening hole in financial information between the US and a weaker Europe.

Matthew Bartolini, head of SPDR Americas analysis at State Avenue World Advisors, stated this transatlantic gulf was wider nonetheless in fairness markets, with the S&P 500’s post-election soar of 6 per cent in November taking its year-to-date positive factors to 26 per cent, at the same time as a post-election wobble in European equities amid fears of upper tariffs trimmed year-to-date returns to five per cent.

This 21 proportion level return differential is the best for 15 years, Bartolini stated. This “illustrates how there’s extra to the US’s reign than the latest post-election rally narratives,” he added.

“For starters, the US has had stronger elementary momentum in 2024. Ahead-looking sentiment is powerful too. The US is projected to have stronger earnings development in every of the following 4 quarters — 6 proportion factors, on common — than the remainder of the world.”

Amid this backdrop, some European traders look like giving up on their home bourses: internet purchases of Europe-listed US fairness ETFs hit a document $23.2bn in November, BlackRock stated.

“Traders abroad jumped on the alternative to extend publicity to the US inventory market,” stated Syl Flood, senior product supervisor at Morningstar, with the Eire-domiciled iShares Core S&P 500 ETF USD (CSSPX) pulling in $4bn, $1bn greater than its earlier month-to-month document, set in January.

Bartolini, whose evaluation solely covers US-listed ETFs, stated that the rolling three-month stream differential between US and non-US fairness ETFs hit an “eye-popping” $188bn, one other document.

Whereas ETFs monitoring the blue-chip S&P 500 dominated flows, as normal, Chedid famous that extra cyclical areas, similar to small and mid-cap shares and financials, additionally noticed sturdy shopping for, mirroring the sample within the wake of Trump’s earlier election victory in November 2016.

His undisputed re-election “has eliminated the uncertainty premium for markets,” Chedid stated, whereas additionally probably ushering in lighter regulation, significantly for monetary shares.

“Traders positioned unusually massive sums with financials-focused ETFs,” stated Flood, with month-to-month flows topping $9.4bn, one more document.

“The Monetary Choose Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), the biggest financials sector fairness ETF at $51bn, noticed document flows of $4.1bn” despite the fact that greater than $1bn of this was withdrawn within the first three days of December, he added.

“Traders made a fair bigger proportional wager on SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE); it grew by a 3rd attributable to November’s flows of $1.4bn”.

Flood additionally famous that Eire, Europe largest ETF domicile, noticed document inflows of $31.5bn (taking property to $1.6tn), with everything of this cash being pumped into equities.

And though US-domiciled fastened revenue ETFs did see inflows, Bartolini calculated that fairness minus bond trailing three-month flows hit one more document.

Nearly the one different asset that did see an excellent month was cryptocurrency. Morningstar’s listing of the highest 10 ETFs by flows in November was dominated by US fairness automobiles with the only exception being the iShares Bitcoin Belief (IBIT), nestled in fifth with $5.8bn of internet new cash as Trump election ushered in a recent wave of enthusiasm for digital property.

The large query now’s whether or not Wall Avenue can preserve its excessive ascendancy, or whether or not flows will turn out to be a bit extra balanced.

“That’s an enormous query that purchasers ask us,” stated Chedid. “In our view there are fundamentals that drive that desire for US equities. We see some selective alternatives coming by means of in different components of the world, however we do want to stress the phrase ‘selective’,” he added, noting that “this yr has been first rate for UK equities”.

And whereas continental Europe “has been considerably weaker by way of flows”, amid “a structural decline in manufacturing exercise” a service sector restoration that has “fizzled out” and an unhelpful geopolitical backdrop, Chedid did be aware that actively managed European fairness ETFs had seen internet shopping for, one thing he attributed to traders in search of out such selective alternatives.