Canada-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) took in $9.2 billion in November, according to National Bank Financial Inc. Released Tuesday, the bank’s monthly research report found that total ETF assets under management (AUM) have now surpassed the half-trillion-dollar milestone, at $517 billion.  

Once again, all fund categories recorded strong inflows in November, except for crypto-asset ETFs.   

Equity ETFs enjoyed the most buy-in, with $6.9 billion pouring into U.S. ($3.1 billion), Canadian ($2.8 billion) and global equity ($1 billion) funds.  

Driven by money-market ETFs, fixed-income ETFs welcomed $1.4 billion in inflows during the month. The inflows were offset by redemptions in Canada aggregate-bond ETFs ($178 million), mid-term ($71 million) and long-term ($90 million) bond ETFs, as well as preferred-share ETFs ($366 million).   

Cryptoasset ETF flows suffered $81 million in redemptions, while commodity ETFs gathered $216 million, led by gold-bullion ETFs.  

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ETFs recorded net outflows of $48 million in November.

The report noted that some ETF providers in Canada have closed their ESG ETFs after observing the “lackluster investor demand” for the products that has persisted since the second quarter of 2024. This includes Middlefield, which announced in late November that it intends to remove the word “sustainable” from the names of two of its ETFs. 

ETF inflows were “widespread among issuers large and small in November,” National Bank Financial said.  

Smaller ETF issuers enjoyed the highest percentage growth based on starting assets — iA Clarington Investments Inc., Accelerate, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Corton Capital Inc. and Quadravest Capital Management had growth rates above 15%, the report said. Meanwhile, Fidelity, Picton Mahoney Asset Management, Capital Group Canada and Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. enjoyed growth rates around 8%. 

November also saw the launch of 18 ETFs, including the first ETF from LongPoint Asset Management Inc. 

Year-to-date ETF inflows reached $66 billion in the month.