SGX-listed ETFs' AUM surge by close to 50% in 2021

WITH 2021 marking 20 years since ETFs were listed on SGX, the combined assets under management (AUM) of Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surged S$4.02 billion or 47 per cent to S$12.55 billion over the year, with the overall product offering on SGX expanding from 30 ETFs to 35 ETFs.

This was in line with global trends that saw record inflows to ETFs, increased mutual-fund-to-ETF conversions, in addition to the launch of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF and VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF in the United States.

Another global development that extended to Singapore included significant flows into some of the more popular fixed income ETFs.

Of the S$4.04 billion of net inflows recorded across the 35 SGX-listed ETFs in 2021, S$2.94 billion was directed to the iShares USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF O9P , with S$316 million directed to the ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF CYC , both fixed income focused.

The equities-focused Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng Tech ETF HST followed the inflow rankings, chalking up S$294 million of inflows.

Due to the size of these inflows, these 3 ETFs also led the AUM growth of all SGX-listed ETFs. Over the year, the 3 ETFs generated mixed returns, with respective total returns of -11 per cent, +10 per cent and -32 per cent.

The next 5 largest inflow recipients over the year included the CSOP iEdge SReit Leaders Index ETF SRT , ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund A35 , NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan Reit ETF CFA , UOB APAC Green Reit ETF GRN and Lion-OCBC China Leaders ETF YYY , with combined S$490 million of inflows.

Three of these 5 ETFs were listed in 2021 - the CSOP iEdge SReit Leaders Index ETF, UOB APAC Green Reit ETF and Lion-OCBC China Leaders ETF.

Meanwhile the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund and NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan Reit ETF generated respective total returns of -5 per cent and +2 per cent over the year, ending the year with respective 12 month gross dividend yields of 1.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent.

The Lion-Phillip S-Reit ETF CLR ranked tenth in terms of highest inflows to SGX-listed ETFs in 2021.

This means that 4 of the 5 Reit-tracking ETFs listed on SGX were among the 10 SGX-listed ETFs that saw the highest inflows over the year.

The NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan Reit ETF and Lion-Phillip S-Reit ETF also ranked as the highest yielding SGX-listed ETFs at the end of 2021, in terms of 12- month gross dividend yields.

The NikkoAM Singapore STI ETF G3B also ranked among the 10 SGX-listed ETFs that saw the highest inflows in 2021.

The STI generated a 13.6 per cent total return in 2021, outpacing broader APAC gains of 1.7 per cent, as estimates based on the first 11 months of the year indicate the Singapore economy rebounded 7.2 per cent in 2021, led by the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Vietnam was among the strongest Asia-Pacific stock markets in 2021, which saw the Xtrackers FTSE Vietnam Swap UCITS ETF HD9 the strongest performer of the SGX-listed ETFs over the year, with the ETF also attracting inflows in 2021. SGX MY GATEWAY