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Despite rocky market conditions in early 2016, exchange traded fund net sales saw positive growth with assets hitting over $95-billion at end of the first quarter.
Canadian-listed ETF ended the first quarter at a new high watermark of $95.2-billion, according to research by Investor Economics.
"The recovery in market valuations played a part in the growth of Canadian-listed ETFs but the majority of the growth can be attributed to strong sales," wrote the Canadian ETF Association (CETFA) in a note released Wednesday.
Overall net inflows for the quarter hit an all-time high of $5.6-billion, breaking the previous record of $5.1-billion last quarter – a figure that would shatter last year's inflow record if the pace keeps up for the remainder of the year, says Daniel Straus, research analyst for National Bank Financial.
In March alone, ETFs in Canada experienced inflows of $3.7-billion, the highest of all time, surpassing the previous monthly record of $3.1-billion set in December 2014, according to NBF.
For the quarter, BMO Investments led the way with $2.4-billion in net inflows, followed by BlackRock Canada with $1.4-billion, and Vanguard Canada- which generated $948-million during the year. Collectively, the three providers accounted for 83 per cent of the all net inflows during the quarter.
Newest entrant to the market, TD Asset Management, launched with $25-million in assets under management with a suite of six passively managed ETFs last month.
Canadian equities continue to see positive net inflows, generating at least a billion dollars overall, for the third consecutive quarter. Foreign equity flavours continued to experience positive inflows, as U.S and international mandates generated $1.1-billion and $740-million in net creations during the quarter, respectively, according to CETFA.
"The top five ETFs in March were all in the equity category, although the product mix suggests that the United States is still a favoured market, as are low-volatility strategies and non-cyclical sectors such as Consumer Staples," wrote Mr. Straus, in an ETF research note. "Outflows were comparatively muted, confined to some hedged international equity and yield-themed ETFs such as banks, REITs and some bonds."