Assets invested in exchange traded funds and products have broken above another big number.

Assets invested in exchange traded funds and products rose above $4 trillion at the end of April, according to preliminary data from ETFGI, a firm tracking developments in the sector.

The Global ETF/ETP industry had 6,835 ETFs/ETPs, with 12,892 listings, assets of $4.002 trillion, from 313 providers listed on 68 exchanges in 56 countries at the end of April 2017.

(ETPs are similar to ETFs in the way they trade and settle but do not use an open-end fund structure. The use of other structures including unsecured debt, grantor trusts, partnerships, and commodity pools by ETPs can, in addition to a significantly different risk profile, create different tax and regulatory implications for investors when compared to ETFs, which are funds.)

“Investors continued to favour equities over fixed income and commodities as equity markets performed positively in April. The S&P 500 was up 1 per cent, international equity markets outside the US and emerging markets were both up 2 per cent in April. Investors were captivated by a closely-fought first round of the French elections during April,” Deborah Fuhr, managing partner and a founder of ETFGI, said. 

ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered record net inflows of $37.94 billion in April marking the 39th consecutive month of net inflows. Year to date, a record $235.21 billion in net new assets have been gathered.