Year-to-date inflows into the market amounted to $275.3bn (£176.9bn), topping the total for the previous 12 months and setting a new record.
November saw ETF/ETP new net asset (NNA) flows of $42bn (£26.9bn), of which $38.8bn (£24.9bn) was in equity and $4.9bn (£3.1bn) in fixed income, while commodities recorded net outflows of $221m (£142m).
ETFGI said it expects worldwide ETF/ETP total assets to exceed $3tn (£1.92tn) in the first half of 2015.
The European ETF/ETP trade accumulated $5.6bn (£3.6bn) of NNA in November, adding to a record $61.8bn (£39.7bn) gathered year-to-date. Total assets equated to $472.1bn (£303.3bn), a 1.1% drop on the $477.4bn (£306.7bn) European high set in August, though ETFGI forecasts the total to the $500bn (£321.3bn) mark in the first half of 2015.
It has been a strong year for the US trade – US-listed ETF/ETP total assets reached an unprecedented $1.98tn (£1.27tn) at the end of November, with net inflows for the month of $42.4bn (£27.2bn) toppling the previous high of $41.1bn (£26.4bn) recorded in July 2013.
Anna Haugaard, fund analyst at Brewin Dolphin, said: “Consensus aversion towards Europe appears to be showing early signs of turning around as net inflows into the asset class turned positive over the last fortnight.
“The euro’s precipitous fall against the US dollar since the summer has made European equities particularly hard to stomach for US investors, leading to an extreme aggregate underweight in the region.
“Despite ruling out sovereign bond purchases at this stage, November’s announcement by the European Central Bank to look into further ‘non-conventional’ measures, is likely driving the recent positivity. As the eurozone stutters on its way to economic recovery, we expect sentiment to be volatile as well.”
