In Q1 2017, ETFs broke another record, though the biggest ETF shops are seeing most of the gains. Meanwhile, the ETF launch rate is on the rise, too, though not as quickly.

Larry Fink BlackRock Chairman and CEO

ETFs in the U.S. brought in a record $134.7 billion in inflows last quarter, Sumit Roy of ETF.com reports, which is more than four times the $29.6 billion in ETF inflows in Q1 2016.

"If inflows continue at this torrid pace, total 2017 inflows will reach almost $540 billion, blowing past last year's record $287.5 billion," ETF.com notes.

Yet ETF.com notes that it's mostly the low-cost ETFs that are winning those inflows, with nine of the top 10 ETF net inflow winners year-to-date having expense ratios of 15 basis points or less.

And in terms of complexes, about 79 percent of that $134.7 billion in Q1 2017 inflows went to the three biggest ETF shops: BlackRock's iShares ($53.0 billion in inflows), Vanguard ($40.3 billion), and SSgA ($12.5 billion). The big three just keep getting bigger. No other ETF shops surpassed $10 billion in Q1 2017 net inflows, and only eight others surpassed $1 billion.

Meanwhile, ETF.com's Heather Bell reports that ETF launches, both total and net up, are up somewhat year-over-year. 46 ETFs launched in Q1 2017, up from 44 in Q1 2016. On the flip side, 21 ETFs shut down in Q1 2017, down from 25 in Q1 2016. So, the net ETF launch number rose from 19 in Q1 2016 to 25 in Q1 2017. Bell also points out 2017's three most successful launches so far (one Invesco PowerShares fund and two QuantX Northern Lights funds) and digs into the recent closures, too. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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