European ETFs Experience High Trading Volume in May, Data Shows

European-listed ETFs saw a surge in trading volume during May, with "buys" outpacing "sells" across all asset classes, particularly in equities and commodities, according to recent data.

Tradeweb Markets' European ETF platform reported substantial trading activity, with total traded volume hitting €47.4 billion. Equity ETFs were the primary driver, making up 65% of the platform's flow. Fixed income and commodities followed with 27% and 8%, respectively. Notably, North American Equities were the most traded category, with a total notional volume of €10.2 billion.

A key highlight was the increased utilization of Tradeweb’s Automated Intelligent Execution tool, AiEX, which handled 88.6% of transactions. The tool managed 24.5% of the volume, marking the second-highest proportion ever recorded on the platform.

Adam Gould, head of equities at Tradeweb, commented on the performance: “Total traded volume on our European platform was up 5.8% year-over-year in May. We had another record-breaking month for automation adoption, with AiEX making it possible to move large volumes with no manual intervention, providing major strategic gains for our clients.”

Six out of the top ten ETFs by traded notional volume were equity-based products. The iShares Core € Corporate Bond Ucits ETF continued to hold its leading position, while the UBS LFS MSCI Japan Ucits ETF reentered the top five for the first time since May 2021, ranking third.

The US ETF platform also experienced robust trading activity in May, with a total consolidated notional value traded reaching $46.8 billion. In the US category, equities represented 56% of the total notional value, while fixed income ETFs accounted for 38%. The remaining volume consisted of commodity and specialty ETFs.

Fixed income products led the US ETF top ten list in May. The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF ranked first, while April’s leading product, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, dropped to fourth place.

Gould added, “Clients have continued to recognise the benefits, including better pricing, increased efficiency, and immediate execution for traders, enabling straight-through processing, automated execution, and list and portfolio trading capabilities.”

By fLEXI tEAM