Exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry assets rose $60.5 billion for the month of April, an increase of 5.7%, according to State Street Global Advisors' ETF Snapshot report.
As of April 30, 2011, 1038 ETFs—with assets totaling $1.12 trillion—were managed by 35 ETF managers.
April marked the eighth consecutive month of positive flows, SSgA said. Large cap had the most inflows, drawing $6.7 billion, after two consecutive months of outflows. International, developed and international-emerging, followed up last month’s inflows with another strong month, attracting $3.0 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.
According to the report, the top three managers in the U.S. ETF marketplace were BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. Collectively, they account for approximately 83% of the U.S. listed ETF market.
The top three ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and iShares Silver Trust [SLV]. The top three ETFs in terms of assets for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], SPDR Gold Shares [GLD], and Vanguard Emerging Markets [VWO].
Commodities and Gold prices continued their string of positive performance in April, gaining 4.4% and 6.7%, respectively. International-developed and emerging markets posted positive performances of 6.1% and 3.1%, respectively. Domestic large cap, mid cap, and small cap markets were all positive performers, rising in the 2.5 to 3.0% range.