Investors Continue to Pour Money Into Active Equity ETFs

The actively managed ETF industry grew across all asset classes through the first half of the year, with flows into active equity funds leading the way. Citing FactSet data as of June 30, the New York Stock Exchange revealed that active equity ETFs brought in $30.7 billion in investor capital in 1H22.

Within equities, investors preferred domestic equity exposure to international and value to growth. Notably, ETFs focused on yield via a dividend tilt and/or an options overlay were leaders.

After a record first quarter, commodities cooled in the second quarter, bringing in $5.6 billion for the six months that ended June 30.

Active fixed income funds fell to third place with $3.4 billion in inflows, experiencing their slowest-growing first half in the last decade. The flows that did come in favored ultra-short and short-term ETFs as well as senior loans.

Alternatives, which brought in $1.5 billion, gained their largest first half cash flow on record. Investors poured more money into these ETFs in the first half of the year than in the prior three years combined. Flows favored a combination of managed futures and real return strategies that focus on mitigating the potential damage that rising rates and inflation can inflict.

“We’re seeing growing demand for active ETFs as advisors build ETF portfolios that own more than just index-based products in an effort to outperform the broader market in a risk-conscious approach,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.

NYSE also noted in its mid-year active ETF outlook that 135 issuers of actively managed ETFs, or roughly 75% of firms, saw positive cash flow in 1H22. In addition, 546 active ETFs, or nearly 65% of all products, saw positive cash flow.

Assets in the active ETF market have grown to $302 billion as of June 30.

T. Rowe Price offers a suite of actively managed ETFs. T. Rowe Price has been in the investing business for over 80 years through conducting field research firsthand with companies, utilizing risk management, and employing a bevy of experienced portfolio managers carrying an average of 22 years of experience.

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