Weekly Market Monitor – Week Ending 24 March 2023

• Bitcoin and silver funds (EBTC, ETPMAG) were top performers once again as investors flocked to uncorrelated assets to hedge against global banking turmoil. Credit Suisse, a long-preferred bank of the wealthy elite, was forcibly acquired by UBS after waning investor confidence led the establishment to collapse. The 167-year-old Swiss powerhouse had been involved in a string of scandals since early 2020 set-off by the fall of Greensill Capital and Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital.
• China and Asia tech ETFs (IAA, IZZ, CNEW, ESPO) also outperformed last week, driven mostly by Tecent’s positive earnings report in which online ad revenues grew for the first time in more than a year.
• Australian property ETFs (HJZP, VAP, SLF, MVA) were the theme across the poorest performers of the week. Investors were shaken after superannuation giant REST reportedly pulled properties from sale after receiving bids significantly below book value. Commercial properties are under pressure as vacancies have risen on the back of extensive tech lay-offs and a rise in hybrid work-patterns. Meanwhile higher interest rates have a dampening effect on property values, as property transactions are largely debt financed.
• There were $295.2 million in reported industry inflows last week. Cash ETFs (AAA) took the top spot once again taking in just shy of a quarter of the flows. Large core equity ETFs (A200, QUAL, IHVV, IOZ) accounted for the lions share of the remaining inflows.
• There were $273.8 million in reported outflows, eking another week of net inflows for the industry.
• Index trackers (VAS, A200, IOZ, QUAL, IHVV) dominated trading volumes as usual. GOLD also made a strong showing as Australian investors took profits on record high gold prices.

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