Over the first three months of the year, users of Morningstar.co.uk have shown a clear and present demand for gold. This is evident by our list of most-searched-for ETFs on the website in the first quarter, where five of the top 10 are exchange-traded products tracking physical bullion or gold securities. But that’s not the only interesting trend to emerge so far this year.
It is very interesting to see several Vanguard ETFs on the list. This could be a warning for other, not so low-cost ETF providers.
“Quite clearly gold is still at the forefront of our readers’ minds, which suggests a certain degree of mistrust in the equity rally,” commented Jose Garcia-Zarate, a senior ETF analyst at Morningstar. It’s also apparent that “those interested in equities are favouring US and emerging markets for their obvious better prospects compared to developed Europe,” said Garcia-Zarate.
But the most interesting trend highlighted by our data puts the spotlight on one particular fund company. “It is very interesting to see several Vanguard ETFs on the list. It means that despite being a very small operation in Europe, the über low-cost message espoused by Vanguard is reaching out in quite an effective manner,” Garcia-Zarate added. This could be a warning for other, not so low-cost ETF providers. Garcia-Zarate points to the FTSE 100 as an example, where the Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF levies a total expense ratio of 10bps, while the most popular ETF tracking this index in terms of assets under management is the iShares FTSE 100 ETF, which charges 40bps. “This is a huge difference and if you are a buy-and-hold retail investor looking for plain vanilla exposure to the FTSE 100, then it looks like a bit of a no brainer and this message is clearly getting through.”
10 Most Searched for ETPs in Q1
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (USD) (SPY)
4 Stars
Morningstar research report
SPDR Gold Shares Trust (USD) (GLD)
No quantitative rating
Morningstar research report
ETFS Physical Gold ETC (GBP) (PHGP)
No quantitative rating
Morningstar research report
iShares Markit iBoxx GBP Corporate Bond (GBP) (SLXX)
3 Stars
Morningstar research report
Source Physical Gold P-ETC (USD) (SGLD)
No quantitative rating
Morningstar research report
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (GBP) (VFEM)
No quantitative rating
Not covered by Morningstar analysts
iShares FTSE UK Dividend Plus Inc (IE) (GBP) (IUKD)
2 Stars
Morningstar research report
ETFS Gold Bullion Securities ETC (USD) (GBS)
No quantitative rating
Morningstar research report
Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF (GBP) (VUKE)
No quantitative rating
Not covered by Morningstar analysts
iShares Physical Gold ETC (GBP) (SGLN)
No quantitative rating
Not covered by Morningstar analysts
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