For the six months to 30 April, funds under management (FUM) in thematic ETFs surged by 70.8 per cent to $4.3 billion, VanEck reported.
FUM in sustainable ETFs jumped by 62.8 per cent to $3.52 billion, while funds in ASX-listed market capitalisation ETFs grew by 33.4 per cent to $66.1 billion.
Growth in VanEck’s own thematic ETFs grew by 92.8 per cent to an FUM of $182.5 billion.
Arian Neiron, chief executive and managing director for VanEck, commented the growth of the segment is “underpinned by sustainable long-term trends”, including themes such as technology, clean energy and healthcare.
“With ASX-listed thematic ETFs, which are accessible, liquid and low cost, investors can position their portfolios to take advantage of these important economic and secular trends that are shaping the future,” Mr Neiron said.
“Technology ETFs have attracted more investors as the industry has grown, further boosted by COVID-19 lockdowns and other social restrictions,” he added, while the Paris Agreement and the shift in demand around energy have also lured investors towards renewables.
COVID-19 and rising health spending across nations have also contributed to increased investment in healthcare.
“Even before COVID-19, health spending was rising strongly across nations given ageing demographics and emerging nations’ healthcare systems catching up to developed nations’. Investors are likely to reap the benefits of the healthcare expansion and rising investment,” Mr Neiron said.
“Global healthcare expenditure accounted for around 10 per cent of the world’s GDP, or US$11 trillion ($14.1 trillion), as at 2018.
“With global GDP projected to grow to US$137 trillion ($176.7 trillion) by 2030, and healthcare expenditures projected to remain at 10 per cent of GDP, this translates into US$14 trillion ($18 trillion) in healthcare spending per year by the end of this decade.”
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
