It’s been a big year for stocks and arguably an even bigger year for the stocks that track stocks (and other assets). According to the Financial Times, global exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surpassed 2021’s record, with global net inflows into diversified funds surging ahead of the US election. Investor appetite has shown no signs of abating, either.

• As of Oct. 31, BlackRock reported that year-to-date net inflows exceeded $1.4T, and strong post-election inflows into US-listed funds have reportedly pushed this figure even higher.
• The bulk of these inflows — $927B — have gone into equity ETFs, especially in the US and emerging markets like China.

What else is booming? BlackRock also singled out fixed-income funds, which have seen a record $376B in net inflows so far this year, as well as strong demand for commodity funds tracking gold and silver. New crypto ETFs have also gained traction, and smaller but fast-growing novelty funds like derivative-linked ETFs and single-stock ETFs have drawn attention by offering new ways to amplify gains. With more investment options than ever, the trend toward the ETF-fication of Wall Street looks set to continue.