ETF flows slowed and turned defensive in April as investors moved away from equities and sought safety in fixed income funds, says National Bank Financial. Just more than $2 billion flowed into Canadian ETFs last month, down from nearly $7 billion in March. With investors around the world watching the developing banking crisis and the Fed’s reaction with a mix of flashbacks and consternation, “we have observed cautious and defensive ETF activity in Canada and the US,” the report says.
![ETFs turn defensive](https://cdn-res.keymedia.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=1000,h=600,f=auto/https://cdn-res.keymedia.com/cms/images/ca/159/0379_638242740856018543.jpg)
ETF flows slowed and turned defensive in April as investors moved away from equities and sought safety in fixed income funds, says National Bank Financial. Just more than $2 billion flowed into Canadian ETFs last month, down from nearly $7 billion in March. With investors around the world watching the developing banking crisis and the Fed’s reaction with a mix of flashbacks and consternation, “we have observed cautious and defensive ETF activity in Canada and the US,” the report says. That defensive activity was reflected in outflows of $836 from Canadian equity ETFs and $349 million from US equity funds. After pouring money into financial sector ETFs in March while the U.S. banking sector wobbled, investors were more cautious in April: financials saw outflows of $206 million last month. Almost $2 billion flowed into fixed-income funds in April, with more than half of that going to cash alternative funds. The other large category for inflows was Canadian government bonds, which gained $419 million, while high-yield and preferred-share funds saw outflows. Canadian ETFs have added $12.5 billion year to date, with $7.2 billion going to fixed income.