Record iShares growth as investors embrace ETFs at fastest pace ever

BlackRock Inc.’s iShares business expanded at its fastest pace ever, collecting a record $246 billion in new flows, taking the global ETF industry beyond $4.5 trillion in total assets under management for the first time.

Global investors drove record growth in U.S. iShares as the shift to fee-based wealth management encouraged use of low-cost portfolio funds.

iShares fixed income ETFs benefited as more and more investors viewed bond ETFs as integral parts of a modern bond portfolio. Use of bond ETFs as trading instruments expanded as bond markets continued to evolve from exclusively over-the-counter, dealer-intermediated trading to more open, all-to-all networks.