By Carolina Wilson
(Bloomberg) --It looks like a big exchange-traded fund investor went out bargain hunting and picked up some sector funds on the cheap.
Five of Fidelity Investments’s sector ETFs took in unprecedented amounts of cash Wednesday, totaling about $584 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The funds, which provide exposure to stocks in health care, industrials, financials, consumer discretionary and information technology, are also known for their discounted costs, only charging 8 basis points apiece.
The $1.7 billion Fidelity MSCI Information Tech ETF, the largest by assets of the five funds, took in the most money, $183.5 million, the data show. The fund, which trades under the ticker FTEC, holds primarily U.S. large-cap technology stocks focused in software and services, semiconductors and hardware companies. Its largest holdings are Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Facebook Inc.
“ETF managers are very focused on cost, so if they’re after certain sector strategies, sometimes the cheapest funds will lure in investors,” said Josh Lukeman, head of ETF market making in the Americas at Credit Suisse Group AG.
A Fidelity spokeswoman declined to comment on the flows.
Individual investors and financial advisers have access to 93 commission-free ETFs through the firm’s online brokerage platforms, totaling more than $300 billion in ETF assets under administration, according to a company press release. ETFs brought to market by Fidelity currently have about $106 billion in assets under administration, highlighting the firm’s recent efforts to catch up with rival broker Charles Schwab.
To contact the reporter on this story: Carolina Wilson in New York City at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at [email protected] Morwenna Coniam, Richard Richtmyer