Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are becoming the preferred investment opportunity, surpassing institutional separately managed accounts (SMAs) in the asset management industry, according to a survey by Cerulli Associates on Wednesday. The shift is indicated by the growing conversion of SMAs into ETFs and their expansion into actively managed investment spaces.
Data from Morningstar shows that as of today, there are 1,160 US-listed active ETFs holding a collective $447 billion out of the total $7.5 trillion held in US ETFs. This emphasizes the efficiency of ETFs as a distribution model for asset managers.
In 2022, a significant trend favoring ETFs was noted, with $960 billion net outflows from US mutual funds and $592 billion inflows into ETFs. Despite this shift, total US assets in SMAs rose from $14.3 trillion to $15.1 trillion in 2022, with retail SMAs being seen as a large opportunity by only 52% of asset managers.
Mutual funds remain the largest investment vehicle with $22.1 trillion in US assets under management at the end of 2022. However, their growth rate has been modest at 70% since 2012. In contrast, ETFs experienced a 400% growth rate during the same period, holding about $7.4 trillion at the end of 2022, underscoring their growing significance in the asset management industry.
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