The AUM of the two ETFs that track the STI took 17 years to reach the S$1 billion milestone in June 2019, and just 17 months to further reach the S$2 billion threshold. The two STI ETFs have seen approximately S$900 million of net inflows/net unit creations in the 2020 year to 24 November.
Within the STI - DBS, UOB, OCBC, SATS & Ascendas REIT have seen the highest net institutional inflows in the MTD, with their average 23% gains driven by S$1.4 billion of net institutional inflows. Proportionate to market cap, the top inflow stocks are similar, but include ComfortDelGro which has rallied 25% in the MTD.
Global rotation from Tech and Healthcare Sectors with momentum in the first 10 months of 2020, to Cyclical Sectors seen to be trading at value at the end of October, has seen measured moves in global indices, with the STI doubling the gains of the Tech & Healthcare Sector heavy S&P 500 Index in the MTD.
Surge in STI ETF Investing as Traders Rotated into Heavyweight STI Sectors
Combined, the current 30 stocks that make up the Straits Times Index (“STI”) have recorded more than S$1 billion in average daily turnover in the 2020 year through to 25 November. The moves of November, currently place this month to be see the strongest STI gains since May 2009 (click here for more).
The big moves of the Index have also seen a surge in participation by long-term passive investors through the 2 Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) that track the STI.
The SPDR® STI ETF was introduced in 2002 and is managed by State Street Global Advisors, while the Nikko AM STI ETF, launched in 2009, is managed by Nikko Asset Management. The Assets under Management (“AUM”) of the 2 STI ETFs took 17 years to reach the S$1 billion milestone in June 2019, and just 17 months to reach the S$2 billion threshold. The SPDR® STI ETF crossed the S$1 billion threshold for the first time in its history back in June 2020. The two STI ETFs have seen approximately S$900 million of net inflows or net unit creations in the 2020 year to 24 November. Secondary market trading turnover of the two ETFs has also surpassed S$1.6 billion this year, a level that is 268% higher than the full year trading turnover.
Recent STI Gains Attributed to Rotation to Banks & Real Estate Developers
The STI has rallied 18.4% in the November month-to-date, bringing its 2020 year to 25 November decline in total return to 7.4%. The gains were led by the Banking and Real Estate Sectors, which had been caught in staunch global sector trends for the first 10 months of 2020. The rally in the bank stocks has seen the average Price-to-Book ratio (P/B) of DBS, OCBC and UOB edge higher to 1.04x, up from 0.86x at the end of October. Similarly, the median P/B of the top quartile of global banks by market value has increased from 0.85x to 0.97x. As of the end of October, DBS, OCBC and UOB made up 38.7% of the STI weightage.
Within the STI, the 5 stocks DBS, UOB, OCBC, SATS and Ascendas REIT have seen the highest net institutional inflows so far this month, with their average 23% gains driven by S$1.4 billion of net institutional inflows. Proportionate to market value, the top net institutional inflow stocks for the month-to-date are similar, but include ComfortDelGro in the top five. The performances of the STI stocks and comparative net institutional flows are tabled below. Combined, the 30 STI stocks have seen S$1.5 billion of net institutional inflow in the month of November through to 24 November.
| STI Stock | Code | Mkt Cap S$M |
Average Daily Turnover S$M |
YTD Total Return |
YTD Net Institutional Flow S$M |
MTD Total Return |
MTD Net Institutional Flow S$M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBS | D05 | 65,261 | 137 | 4% | -672 | 27% | 695 |
| Jardine Matheson Holdings | J36 | 53,647 | 23 | 1% | -19 | 20% | 13 |
| OCBC Bank | O39 | 45,313 | 68 | -3% | -685 | 20% | 263 |
| SingTel | Z74 | 40,496 | 83 | -25% | -983 | 22% | -37 |
| UOB | U11 | 38,876 | 76 | -7% | -1227 | 22% | 300 |
| Jardine Strategic Holdings | J37 | 36,887 | 12 | -18% | -34 | 12% | 2 |
| Wilmar International | F34 | 27,508 | 41 | 9% | -66 | 7% | -20 |
| Thai Beverage | Y92 | 18,083 | 19 | -17% | -143 | 24% | 77 |
| CapitaLand | C31 | 16,254 | 33 | -13% | -166 | 22% | 28 |
| SIA | C6L | 13,580 | 33 | -28% | -594 | 35% | 70 |
| HongkongLand | H78 | 13,514 | 15 | -21% | -123 | 15% | 6 |
| CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust | C38U | 12,812 | 41 | -16% | -221 | 14% | -19 |
| ST Engineering | S63 | 12,493 | 21 | 6% | 77 | 15% | -10 |
| Ascendas REIT | A17U | 12,096 | 49 | 7% | 415 | 7% | 79 |
| Genting Singapore | G13 | 10,134 | 24 | -6% | 91 | 30% | 11 |
| SGX | S68 | 9,855 | 37 | 7% | 151 | 6% | -12 |
| Keppel Corporation | BN4 | 9,524 | 25 | -21% | -99 | 19% | 25 |
| Jardine C&C | C07 | 8,470 | 14 | -25% | -124 | 21% | 19 |
| Mapletree Logistics Trust | M44U | 8,136 | 35 | 18% | 64 | 1% | -46 |
| Dairy Farm International | D01 | 7,760 | 7 | -22% | -61 | 11% | -1 |
| City Developments | C09 | 7,137 | 22 | -27% | -233 | 24% | 12 |
| Mapletree Industrial Trust | ME8U | 6,958 | 25 | 19% | 24 | -2% | -6 |
| Mapletree Commercial Trust | N2IU | 6,862 | 26 | -10% | -40 | 20% | 31 |
| UOL | U14 | 6,413 | 11 | -6% | 29 | 22% | 19 |
| Venture Corporation | V03 | 5,569 | 24 | 24% | 149 | 0% | -78 |
| SATS | S58 | 4,703 | 21 | -17% | -122 | 41% | 101 |
| Keppel DC REIT | AJBU | 4,638 | 18 | 40% | 16 | -2% | -33 |
| ComfortDelGro | C52 | 3,662 | 28 | -26% | -317 | 25% | 41 |
| Yangzijiang Shipbuilding | BS6 | 3,625 | 23 | -13% | -89 | 2% | -33 |
| Sembcorp Industries | U96 | 3,209 | 14 | 59% | -148 | 14% | 2 |
Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv (Data as of 25 November 2020)
Global rotation from the Technology and Healthcare Sectors which had momentum in the first 10 months of 2020, to Cyclical Sectors seen to be trading at value at the end of October, has seen measured moves in global indices. Hence the STI has doubled the gains of the Technology & Healthcare Sector heavy S&P 500 Index since the end of October.
