SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Equity Bottom-Up





Combined AUM of the 30 Singapore-listed ETFs has grown by 12% in the 1H21 to 11 June, to S$9.6 billion. Fixed Income ETFs represent 47% of the combined AUM, (from 46% in Dec 2020) with REITs representing 6% (from 5%) and Gold representing 16% (from 18%), while Equity ETFs continue to represent 31% of the combined AUM.  
	 
	
Singapore’s Fixed Income ETFs have been recipient to the most inflows in the 2021 year to 11 June, with the eight ETFs seeing combined net inflows of S$573.1 million, led by inflows to the ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF and the iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF. 
	 
	The 10 strongest performing ETFs in the 2021 year to 11 June, have all been Equity ETFs, led by the Xtrackers FTSE Vietnam Swap UCITS ETF. Resilient investment into 2021 has also been a key driver of the global equity markets, with global bank stocks outpacing semiconductor stocks, in addition to materials and resources stocks.  

 

Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) have continued to serve as an effective means for portfolio managers seeking speedy and cost-effective broad index exposures in 1H21. Last week, at the BlackRock Investor Day 2021, the Investor Manager estimated that total, global ETF Assets Under Management (“AUM”) would grow from US$8 trillion in 2020 to US$15 trillion in 2025 (click here for more). In the 1H21 to 11 June, the combined Assets under Management (“AUM”) of all ETFs listed in Singapore has increased 12% from S$8.6 billion at the end of 2020 to S$9.6 billion as of 11 June. This follows on from the significant 57% AUM growth during 2020.  Singapore lists 30 ETFs across four major asset types – Fixed Income, Equities, Gold and REITs. As illustrated below, AUM growth has been observed across all asset classes with the exception of Gold in the 1H21 to 21 June. With the SPDR Goldshares ETF share in the combined S$9.6 billion AUM declining by 2% in the 1H21 to 11 June, the REIT ETFs and Fixed Income ETFs have both increased their share in the combined ETF AUM.



      
    
    Singapore listed ETF AUM

Singapore’s Fixed Income ETFs have been recipient to the most inflows in the 2021 year to 11 June, with the eight ETFs seeing combined net inflows of S$573.1 million. The Fixed Income inflows were led by the ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF and the iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF which were recipients of inflows of S$335.5 million and S$152.1 million respectively. As discussed here, the ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF USD counter (CYB) delivered a 4.1%  return in the 2021 year to 11 June, with the SGD counter (CYC) delivering a similar 3.8% return. 


      
    
    2021 YTD ETF inflow


Leading the Inflows for the 18 Equity ETFs, the Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng TECH ETF saw inflows of S$150.9 million, the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF saw inflows of S$41.0 million and the Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF saw inflows of S$14.8 million. The trio of REIT ETFs was recipient to S$112.3 million in inflows, with the Nikko AM- Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF recipient to S$82.4 million in inflows.  
ETF Inflows are generally resulted from primary market creation of ETF units by the participating dealers to meet the excess demand from institutional and retail investors for the ETFs on the secondary market (i.e. the exchange). Outflows, on the other hand, are resulted from primary market redemption due to selling activities of institutional and retail investors in the market.  The 10 strongest performing ETFs in the 2021 year to 11 June, have all been Equity ETFs. The 10 ETFs averaged a 13.4% total return over the first 23 weeks of 2021. As tabled below, the Xtrackers FTSE Vietnam Swap UCITS ETF and Lyxor MSCI India UCITS ETF - Acc USD both generated the strongest gains over the period at 21.7% and 14.9% respectively.  Resilient investment into 2021 has also been a key driver of the global equity markets, with global bank stocks outpacing semiconductor stocks, in addition to materials and resources stocks.  




			ETF Name
			
			
			Asset Class
			
			
			SGD Code
			
			
			USD or CNH Code
			
			
			YTD Inflows S$M
			
			
			AUM   S$M
			
			
			2021 YTD Turnover 2021 S$M
			
			
			2021 YTD Total Return %
			
		


			Xtrackers FTSE Vietnam Swap UCITS ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			HD9
			
			
			3.4
			
			
			          18.5
			
			
			        11.2
			
			
			   21.7 
			
		


			Lyxor MSCI India UCITS ETF - Acc USD
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			G1N
			
			
			-
			
			
			        13.9
			
			
			          1.1
			
			
			  14.9 
			
		


			SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			S27
			
			
			6.7
			
			
			        53.3
			
			
			      16.8
			
			
			       14.6 
			
		


			SPDR®  DJIA ETF TRUST
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			D07
			
			
			-
			
			
			          4.0
			
			
			         1.0
			
			
			   14.4 
			
		


			iShares MSCI India Index ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			QK9
			
			
			I98
			
			
			-
			
			
			      129.4
			
			
			     41.7
			
			
			    14.3 
			
		


			SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			ES3
			
			
			 
			
			
			-100.3
			
			
			      1,678.0
			
			
			        659.3
			
			
			    12.0 
			
		


			Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			G3B
			
			
			 
			
			
			41.0
			
			
			      572.3
			
			
			         248.4
			
			
			       11.9 
			
		


			Principal S&amp;P APAC Dividend ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			QR9
			
			
			P5P
			
			
			2.2
			
			
			        24.5
			
			
			            0.4
			
			
			    10.8 
			
		


			Xtrackers MSCI Singapore UCITS ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			O9A
			
			
			-1.9
			
			
			          14.6
			
			
			           1.1
			
			
			     10.4 
			
		


			Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan UCITS ETF - USD
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			P60
			
			
			-
			
			
			        28.6
			
			
			           6.4
			
			
			        9.5 
			
		


			Phillip Sing Income ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			OVQ
			
			
			 
			
			
			-
			
			
			        63.7
			
			
			         8.8
			
			
			       8.7 
			
		


			Phillip APAC DIV REIT Leader ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			BYJ
			
			
			BYI
			
			
			1.5
			
			
			          24.3
			
			
			         7.1
			
			
			      8.6 
			
		


			Lyxor MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF - Acc USD
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			H1N
			
			
			2.4
			
			
			          8.2
			
			
			          0.4
			
			
			      7.7 
			
		


			Principal FTSE ASEAN40 ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			QS0
			
			
			M62
			
			
			(8.8)
			
			
			     11.6
			
			
			        10.4
			
			
			    4.0 
			
		


			ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			CYC
			
			
			CYB
			
			
			335.5
			
			
			1,921.4
			
			
			          109.9
			
			
			        3.8 
			
		


			Nikko AM - ICBCSG China Bond ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			ZHS
			
			
			ZHD/ ZHY
			
			
			13.9
			
			
			     286.0
			
			
			         19.6
			
			
			    3.7 
			
		


			Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			CLR
			
			
			 
			
			
			28.4
			
			
			      222.1
			
			
			        65.8
			
			
			       2.7 
			
		


			Nikko AM - Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			CFA
			
			
			COI
			
			
			82.4
			
			
			     340.2
			
			
			       130.6
			
			
			      2.7 
			
		


			UNITED SSE 50 CHINA ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			JK8
			
			
			 
			
			
			1.2
			
			
			         29.4
			
			
			          7.7
			
			
			     2.0 
			
		


			iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			QL3
			
			
			O9P
			
			
			152.1
			
			
			      344.2
			
			
			          119.2
			
			
			      1.4 
			
		


			Lyxor China Enterprise (HSCEI) UCITS ETF - USD
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			P58
			
			
			-
			
			
			         41.3
			
			
			         2.6
			
			
			      1.3 
			
		


			SPDR Goldshares ETF
			
			
			Gold
			
			
			 
			
			
			O87
			
			
			-47.2
			
			
			   1,482.2
			
			
			    368.0
			
			
			    0.5 
			
		


			Phillip SGD Money Market ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			MMS
			
			
			MMT
			
			
			-1.6
			
			
			      119.1
			
			
			              4.2
			
			
			      0.1 
			
		


			iShares Asia Credit ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			QL2
			
			
			N6M
			
			
			18.7
			
			
			          99.7
			
			
			        47.2
			
			
			      0.1 
			
		


			Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			MBH
			
			
			 
			
			
			12.1
			
			
			       607.4
			
			
			         82.1
			
			
			   (0.5)
			
		


			Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			TID
			
			
			LG9
			
			
			14.8
			
			
			       58.9
			
			
			          60.0
			
			
			(2.8)
			
		


			Xtrackers II Singapore Government Bond UCITS ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			KV4
			
			
			 
			
			
			-0.8
			
			
			     131.4
			
			
			         1.7
			
			
			  (3.0)
			
		


			ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			A35
			
			
			 
			
			
			43.2
			
			
			1,014.6
			
			
			        61.8
			
			
			        (3.5)
			
		


			Xtrackers MSCI Indonesia Swap UCITS ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			 
			
			
			KJ7
			
			
			-5.4
			
			
			         13.3
			
			
			         15.1
			
			
			   (4.1)
			
		


			Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng TECH ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			HST
			
			
			HSS
			
			
			150.9
			
			
			      229.0
			
			
			          329.3
			
			
			         (5.5)
			
		

Source: SGX, Refinitiv, Bloomberg (Data as of 11 June 2021)

 

As tabled above, the five most traded of the 30 Singapore listed ETFs included the  SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF, the SPDR Goldshares ETF, the Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng TECH ETF, the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF and the Nikko AM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF. At 4.1%, the Nikko AM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF also maintains the third highest indicative dividend yield of the 30 ETFs as tabled below.




			ETF Name
			
			
			Asset Class
			
			
			SGD Code
			
			
			USD or CNH Code
			
			
			Dividend Indicated Yield (Gross) %
			
		


			iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			QL3
			
			
			O9P
			
			
			5.8
			
		


			Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			CLR
			
			 
			
			4.1
			
		


			Nikko AM – Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			CFA
			
			
			COI
			
			
			4.1
			
		


			Principal FTSE ASEAN40 ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			QS0
			
			
			M62
			
			
			3.9
			
		


			Phillip Sing Income ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			OVQ
			
			 
			
			3.7
			
		


			Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			G3B
			
			 
			
			3.4
			
		


			Principal S&amp;P APAC Dividend ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			QR9
			
			
			P5P
			
			
			3.3
			
		


			iShares Asia Credit ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			QL2
			
			
			N6M
			
			
			2.9
			
		


			Phillip APAC DIV REIT Leader ETF
			
			
			REITs
			
			
			BYJ
			
			
			BYI
			
			
			2.8
			
		


			Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			MBH
			
			 
			
			2.7
			
		


			SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			
			ES3
			
			 
			
			2.5
			
		


			SPDR®  DJIA ETF TRUST
			
			
			Equities
			
			 
			
			D07
			
			
			2.4
			
		


			ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond ETF
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			CYC
			
			
			CYB
			
			
			2.1
			
		


			ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund
			
			
			Fixed Income
			
			
			A35
			
			 
			
			2.0
			
		


			SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF
			
			
			Equities
			
			 
			
			S27
			
			
			1.2
			
		

 Source: SGX, Refinitiv, Bloomberg (Data as of 11 June 2021)

 

The iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF, Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF, Nikko AM- Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF, Principal FTSE ASEAN40 ETF and Phillip Sing Income ETF currently maintain the highest indicated dividend yields.  Investing in ETFs  
ETFs are investment funds listed and traded intraday on a stock exchange. The majority aim to track the performance of an index and provide access to a wide variety of markets and asset classes, including local stocks, international securities, bonds, commodities or money markets.  
Each ETF gives investors access to the performance of the asset that comprises the underlying index. Investing in the ETF is also less costly if one was to build a similar portfolio by buying the individual stocks. It also provides exposure to international markets and asset classes that may be inaccessible to individual investors.  
To find out more about ETFs, click here. 



ETFs Continued to Attract Investors in 1H21, Local AUM Nears S$10B

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ETFs Continued to Attract Investors in 1H21, Local AUM Nears S$10B

Combined AUM of the 30 Singapore-listed ETFs has grown by 12% in the 1H21 to 11 June, to S$9.6 billion. Fixed Income ETFs represent 47% of the...

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