ETF, LIC & LITs

The market capitalisation of ASX LICs) and LITs dropped by 23.9% to $40.5bn over the first quarter of 2020. The volatility in the market and subsequent large equity sell-off resulted in no new listings in the sector.

ETF trading has increased significantly over the past 3 months, with average daily value traded in March and April exceeding $770m and $460m, respectively. Despite the sell-off that has occurred in 2020, funds have stayed in the ETFs with each month recording positive net inflows.

The world is experiencing an unprecedented systematic shutdown of borders and businesses, suppressing the outlook of future economic global growth. We explore some factor-based ETFs aimed at providing a defensive tilt to long global equities.

The market capitalisation of ASX LICs and LITs finished 2019 above $53.1bn, a 12 month increase of 29.6%. During the quarter there were 3 new listings that raised a combined $2.3bn.