Based on the Scotia ETF EDGE reports from March 4 to March 28, Canadian ETFs saw an inflow of $5.0 billion, a $1.1 billion decrease from the previous month. The bulk of the inflows in March came from equity with nearly $4.0 billion in net creation in two consecutive months while fixed income and cash ETFs accounted for only $0.68 billion in net inflows and mixed allocation for $0.42 billion.
Net inflows in the commodities asset class were steady as gold reached new highs, possibly spurred by geopolitical risk in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven asset and a hedge to inflation. The crypto market saw another month of net redemptions with outflows of $74 million despite Bitcoin hitting above $70,000 a token.
Riding on last month’s AI hype train, there were two new equity ETFs added. The Evolve Artificial Intelligence Fundinvests in companies that could benefit from the widespread integration of artificial intelligence. The fund uses a generative AI platform in the portfolio selection process. The Evovest Global Equity ETFRBC added three new fixed income funds that appeal to different bond investor profiles.