BlackRock's iShares posts record yearly inflows for 2017

Predicts global ETF industry will more than double by 2022

BlackRock witnessed record flows into its iShares business in 2017 following investor interest from an array of markets in both its core fund range and more targeted innovative products.

iShares' inflows for the year totalled $246bn, up from $140bn in 2016, in a year that saw the global ETF industry pass $4.5trn assets under management (AUM) for the first time. The firm's European ETFs range, which was bought by Asian, European and Latin American investors, saw record inflows of $41bn bringing its total AUM to $359bn, crossing $300bn for the first time. Adoption of ETFs in both the US and Europe has accelerated the spread of fee-based wealth management, the firm said, while active managers had started to use ETFs more and more to construct their portfolios. Moody's...