Assets invested in the exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded product industry in Canada and the US hit a record high at the end of June, according to ETF consultancy ETFGI. Canada saw assets rise to $79.42bn at the end of last month, while in the US they hit $2.256tn. The news will be a boon to the ETF industry, which is predicted to hit assets of $7tn by 2021, according to a recent report from PWC. The firm expects the North American ETF market to grow to $5.9 trillion in AUM by 2021 (a 23% cumulative annual growth).

Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan hit a record of $148bn at the end of June, according to independent ETF consultancy ETFGI. The record flows were driven by increased volatility in June as a result of the UK’s vote over whether to leave the European Union. Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI, said: “Markets and investors around the world were engulfed in the chaos following what many saw as the unexpected result of the UK’s June 23rd vote. Volatility was up significantly during the month. The S&P 500 index was up just 0.3%.”

The European ETF market netted nearly €8bn of new money in the second quarter of this year helping boost assets under management to €482.4bn – a 4.2% increase on the first quarter. This was despite the second quarter of the year being an 18% decline from the €11bn of net inflows registered in the first quarter, according to data from Morningstar. Jose Garcia-Zarate, Associate Director of Passive Strategies Research for Morningstar, said: “Given the general investment environment, we see these figures in a positive light. Investors had a tough time in the second quarter of 2016.”

ETFs and ETPs in Europe gathered $5bn in net new assets making June the 21st month of net inflows, according to independent research firm ETFGI. Last month equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with $2.17bn flowing in. This was followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with $1.47bn, and commodity ETFs/ETPs with $1.24bn. The flows came despite Europe feeling the impact of Brexit. Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI, said: “Markets and investors around the world were engulfed in the chaos following what many saw as the unexpected result of the UK’s June 23rd vote.”

STOXX has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Taiwan’s largest mutual fund company Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Company (Yuanta SITC), and Japanese trust bank Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. (MUTB), to expand the smart beta footprint in Taiwan. Under the terms of the agreement, Yuanta plans to license a wide variety of STOXX indices – in particular, from STOXX’s smart beta suite which includes the iSTOXX MUTB Indices – to increase its smart beta offerings to retail and institutional clients in Taiwan.

iShares has launched two sustainable equity ETFs. The ETFs track MSCI indices focused on ESG ratings. The launch is the latest from the provider in offering investors ethical ETFs and adds to its range of ESG products. The iShares Sustainable MSCI Emerging Markets SRI UCITS ETF tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets SRI index, which includes large and mid-cap equities across 23 emerging market countries. The iShares Sustainable MSCI USA SRI UCITS ETF tracks the MSCI USA SRI Index, which includes large and mid-cap companies in the USA.

Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs globally have hit a new record. Investor money in ETFs/ETPs hit $3.177tn at the end of June, according to independent research consultancy firm ETFGI. Despite the impact of the EU Referendum on markets around the globe, June marked the 29th consecutive month of net inflows at $31.38bn. Record assets were seen in ETFs/ETPs listed in the United States with $2.256tn, Japan with $147.67bn and in Canada with $79.14bn. In June, equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with $11.72bn, followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with $10.80bn, and commodity ETFs/ETPs with $6.63bn.

June inflows to global ETPs were the second best this year with investors putting their money into equities and gold as, despite Brexit, risk sentiment appeared to return, according BlackRock’s latest Global ETP Landscape Report. Global ETP flows hit $24.5bn last month, while April saw $11.1bn flow in and May had $10.7bn. Gold ETPs benefitted off the back of the EU Referendum as investors poured $2.5bn of assets into gold exposures pushing the June total to $5.4bn. Ursula Marchioni, Chief Strategist, iShares EMEA at BlackRock, said: “June flows have been mixed, demonstrating an absence of consensus amongst investors.”

Australian ETF provider ANZ ETFS Management is set to launch Australia’s first EURO STOXX 50 ETF later this month after STOXX Ltd licensed its EURO STOXX 50 index to the provider. ANZ ETFS Management is a partnership between Australia and New Zealand banking group Ltd (ANZ) and ETF Securities (ETFS). Set up in 2015 it has so far listed six ETFs on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Matteo Andreetto, CEO at STOXX Ltd, said: “It is the first time that our unrivalled flagship EURO STOXX 50 Index has been licensed for an ETF in Australia.”

London-based investment research and advisory boutique Elston Consulting has launched a Charity Multi-Asset Income ETF Portfolio intended to provide charitable sector clients with a regular income and above-inflation returns at low cost. The ETF managed portfolio, which is diversified across a broad range of asset classes, has been designed to target a total return of 4% above inflation over the long-term, with an income yield of around 3.6%. Henry Cobbe, Head of Research at Elston Consulting, said: “With the Elston Charity Multi-Asset Income portfolio, advisers working with charities can offer a systematically constructed broadly diversified investment strategy that aims to provide a regular income and above-inflation returns at very low cost.”