ETP investors flock to commodities as European equities suffer $6.5bn outflow in March

Record month for gold

European equity exchange-traded products (ETPs) suffered outflows of $6.5bn in March, the first month of outflows since October 2020, according to a recent Global ETP Flows report from BlackRock, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to shake up markets across the region.

EMEA-listed European equity ETPs were impacted worst, as investors sold $5.5bn, while outflows from US-domiciled European equity products totalled $1.2bn. Fixed income funds were less affected, according to BlackRock. European investment grade credit funds gained $0.9bn following February outflows of $1.2bn. Inflows into European government bond funds decreased in March, from $1.3bn to $0.3bn, while flows into inflation-protected products climbed to their highest monthly allocation figure on record, up at $0.5bn. Investors flocked to commodities over the period, as buying across th...