Assets invested in smart beta equity ETFs listed globally have increased 21.9% in the first nine months of the year to reach a new record high of $644 billion at the end of September, according to London-based ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

At the end of September 2017, $644bn in assets were invested in smart beta ETFs globally.

Record levels of assets were also recorded at the end of September for equity smart beta ETFs listed in the United States with $572bn, in Europe with $48.4bn, in Canada with $14.4bn and in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) with $6.1bn.

During September 2017, smart beta equity ETFs listed globally gathered a record level of $6.4bn in net inflows, marking 19 consecutive months of net inflows. Year-to-date (YTD) net inflows stand at $53.4bn, greater than the $36.5bn in net inflows at this point last year. Combining market moves and net inflows, smart beta equity ETF assets globally have increased by 21.9% from $529bn to $644bn, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 31.3%.

The US-listed smart beta ETF market accounts for 88.7% of smart beta ETF assets globally. Over three-quarters of smart beta ETF assets globally are invested in funds that provide smart beta exposure to the US market.

iShares gathered the largest smart beta ETF net inflows in September with $2.6bn, followed by Vanguard with $1.1bn and PowerShares with $390 million of net inflows.

Products tracking MSCI smart beta indices gathered the largest net ETF inflows in September with $1.7bn, followed by CRSP with $1.1bn and S&P Dow Jones with $1.0bn net inflows.

At the end of September 2017, there were 1,284 smart beta equity ETFs, comprising 2,189 listings from 161 providers on 40 exchanges in 33 countries.