The critical role of ETFs in providing liquidity and facilitating price discovery amid market stress

April 28, 2025-- KEY POINTS
Net positive inflows into Core ETFs in the days following 'Liberation Day' demonstrate broad investor demand for trading solutions offering good liquidity
There was wide dispersion within the ETF industry, however, as the flight to safety saw investors allocate in favour of low-risk credit and government bond ETFs

Active ETFs with more flexibility to navigate volatility also benefitted at the expense of passive exposures

US President Donald Trump announced a wave of new tariffs on 2 April, which he branded ‘Liberation Day’, arguing they would help boost the US economy. At this stage, uncertainty around trade policy, global growth, and inflation remains very high. It is impossible to predict exactly when markets will start to stabilise, and this has triggered a huge increase in volatility across financial markets globally. This uncertainty is highlighted by the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), which recently closed at its highest level since April 2020, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Source: axa-im.co.uk