ETF Investors Stuck to the Script in August
Plain-vanilla, broadly diversified index funds continued to attract healthy flows last month.
Plain-vanilla, broadly diversified index funds continued to attract healthy flows last month.
Exchange-traded funds built on their record year last month as they raked in a fresh $66 billion of new investor money. With two thirds of 2021 in the books, ETFs’ year-to-date haul clocked in at over $591 billion.
Global stock markets continued to advance despite uncertainty around the coronavirus delta variant. The Morningstar Global Markets Index--a broad gauge of global equities--added 2.5% in August, boosting its year-to-date return to 15.64%. That marked its seventh consecutive month in the black, its longest such streak since it notched 15 straight positive months from November 2016–January 2018. Bonds took a small step back, however, snapping a four-month winning streak of their own. After sliding 0.15% in August, the Morningstar US Core Bond Index has now lost 0.72% for the year to date.
Ryan Jackson does not own (actual or beneficial) shares in any of the securities mentioned above. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.