Total third party distribution of long-term mutual fund and ETF assets represented $9.24 trillion in the third quarter, down slightly from the previous quarter, according to Access Data, a Broadridge Financial Solutions company.
For the financial advisor channels, independent broker-dealers were the only ones to increase mutual fund and ETF assets under management in the third quarter despite the market downturn, accounting for $2.27 trillion under management.
According to Broadridge, registered investment advisors remained second to broker-dealers in combined long-term mutual funds and ETFs assets, accounting for $1.72 trillion in the third quarter, followed by wirehouse firms with $1.63 trillion, and private banks with $1.43 trillion.
For the year, the data also shows an increasing use of ETFs across all third-party distribution channels. In the third quarter, ETF assets totaled $1.95 trillion, up nearly 10 percent on a year-to-date basis. While RIAs accounted for the most ETF assets under management in the third quarter with $385 billion, independent broker-dealers increased ETF assets by a higher percentage base both on a quarterly (5 percent) and year-to-date basis (15 percent) to $351 billion. Additionally, private bank ETF assets totaled $357 billion under management in the third quarter, which surpassed wirehouses $328 billion in assets for the first time, said Broadridge.
"We've seen advisors across all channels increase the use of ETFs in their investment strategies," said Frank Polefrone, senior vice president, Access Data. "With advisors moving more to fee-based compensation for managing portfolios rather than commission-based product sales, the use of ETFs has captured a larger share of net new assets managed by advisors."