U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds stood at an all-time record of $1.860 trillion in assets at the end of June, according to ETF.com. That represents 7% growth over year-end 2013 and 26% upside over the year-earlier period.
All told, U.S.-listed ETFs garnered more than $73 billion in assets during the year’s first six months, with roughly one-third, or $25 billion, coming in June.
Unless June’s blistering pace can continue, U.S. ETF industry growth for the year would underperform last year’s record inflows of $188 billion.
The vast majority of assets during the first half flowed into three main categories: International equities were the top choice among investors in U.S.-listed ETFs with asset growth of nearly $25 billion, followed by U.S. equities ($23 billion) and U.S. fixed income ($20 billion).
Vanguard dominated the leader board among ETFs with the biggest inflows through June, with six funds in the top 10. The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets and Vanguard REIT funds were first and second, respectively. iShares placed three ETFs among the top 10, while State Street’s Energy Select SPDR was its lone top 10 placement, at third on the list.
State Street’s mainstay SPDR S&P 500 fund saw the biggest outflows during the year’s first half at $14.6 billion (though it rebounded with $7.8 billion in new assets in June), followed by outflows of $4 billion at the Power Shares QQQ fund. State Street’s Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR, the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets and the iShares Russell 2000 funds all saw outflows of more than $2.3 billion during that period.