The first quarter of 2019 saw investors continue to preference investing via the ETF structure compared to traditional mutual funds, which continued to sustain net outflows. Fixed income was the flavour of the quarter, as investors moved to a decidedly risk-off position in their portfolios.
Within equities, North American exposures topped the charts, while, at a sector level, it was real estate that grew strongly as investors sought out high yield sectors to combat the lack of rate increases by the Fed. Financials and Technology ETFs were sold off, the first due to increased earnings pressure in the Banking industry and the latter due to profit taking as technology markets continued to rally.
In this edition of the BetaShares Global ETF Review, along with the usual quarterly review of the global ETF industry, the spotlight is on the fast-growing cannabis ETF sector, as it transforms into an increasingly-legitimate industry.