ETFs

The State Street fund has climbed 68% since falling to a more than seven-year low in March.

State Street’s stockpile takes up one corner of a vault in a system that stores bullion on behalf of central banks, sovereign wealth funds and others.

Total assets held by the central bank rose to a record $7.04 trillion in the week through May 20.

Corporate-debt funds have led the intake since the central bank first announced its Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility in March.

The central bank plans to make both outright purchases of corporate bonds as well as funds potentially invested in sub-investment grade debt.

Fixed-income ETFs — for the most part — passed their first big test, but it was a roller-coaster ride along the way.

For better or worse, investors have mostly turned around the fortunes of risky assets entirely on their own.

“This is all about having the flexibility and having multiple options for our investors,” says GSAM’s head of ETF strategy.

The pandemic has sealed the fate of small, niche offerings that have failed to gain traction.

Economic damage wrought by the coronavirus has not stopped investors from piling into the companies able to churn out profits in the stay-at-home world.