ETFs Blossom in April Markets
The increase was largely built on the strength of the stock market, as new issuance decreased to $5.60 billion from $12.34 billion in March, while redemptions increased to $5.95 billion from $3.42 billion. During the month the value of shares redeemed exceeded that of shares issued by $353 million. Last month that difference was $8,914 million, according to ICI.
ETFs are an investment company with shares that trade during the day on stock exchanges at market-determined prices. Investors may buy or sell ETF shares through a broker just as they would the shares of any publicly traded company.
Sector Surge
Broad based domestic ETFs increased to $64.7 billion from a revised $58.8 billion in March. Sector/industry focused ETFs enjoyed a near 24% rate of growth, closing April with nearly $7 billion in assets. That reversed a slight downturn in the category in March.
Global/International ETFs grew by 6.5%, totaling $1.917 billion at month-end.
There were fifty-nine ETFs tracking domestic stock indexes. Of these 29 used broad-based indexes and 30 targeted sector or industry indexes. There were 25 global/international ETFs, according to ICI.
Statistics contained in the monthly ETF report have been obtained from information provided to ICI by exchange-traded funds. Trust-issued receipts, such as Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS), are not included in the report because registered investment companies do not issue them.