Amid Increasing Competition, This ETF Packs On Assets

Even with intensifying competition, the Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY is luring investors.

Chicago-based Amplify said Wednesday IBUY, the first exchange traded fund focusing on e-commerce and online retailers, surpassed $500 million in assets under management.

What Happened

To be precise, IBUY had $509.93 million in assets under management as of July 18, according to issuer data. The fund launched on April 20, 2016. IBUY tracks the EQM Online Retail Index (IBUYXT).

“The rules-based index tracks a globally diverse basket of companies that fall into three online retail categories -- marketplace, travel and merchants -- all of which must generate 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales,” said Amplify.

Why It's Important

IBUY's asset-gathering acumen is important because news of the fund's ascent to the $500 million club arrives just days after a rival product was introduced. Earlier this week, ProShares launched the ProShares Online Retail ETF ONLN.

Indicating investor interest in IBUY remains stout, the ETF has added $255.32 million in new assets this year, or about half its total AUM tally. The second quarter was a successful stretch for IBUY as investors allocated over $134 million to the fun and while the third quarter is still in its nascent stages, IBUY has already seen quarter-to-date inflows of $34 million.

IBUY “has returned 44.78 percent in the past year, and a cumulative return of 104.77 percent since inception as of 6/30/2018,” according to the issuer.

What's Next

IBUY holdings are spread across three segments: traditional online retailers, marketplace operators like eBay Inc. EBAY and travel providers such as TripAdvisor Inc. TRIP. None of the ETF's top 10 holdings exceed a weight of 5.21 percent.

Forty percent of IBUY holdings are classified as large-caps while 39 percent are mid-caps. The remaining 21 percent are small-cap stocks.

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