Online Retail ETF Tops $200 Million in Assets

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

The Amplify Online Retail ETF (NasdaqGM: IBUY) is fast-approaching its second anniversary and over those almost two years on the market, IBUY has become a hit with investors.

IBUY “has surpassed $200 million in assets under management as it continues to capitalize on the worldwide growth of online retail sales. The fund has returned 58.31% in the past year, and a cumulative return of 78.40%* since inception as of 1/31/2018,” according to a statement from Chicago-based Amplify ETFs.

As of Feb. 16th, IBUY had $217.2 million in assets under management. The ETF debuted in April 2016. IBUY provides exposure to many familiar online names, such as WayFair Inc (NYSE: W), Etsy (NasdaqGS: ETSY), FTD Companies (NasdaqGS: FTD), Overstock Com Inc (NasdaqGS: OSTK) and Priceline (NasdaqGS: PCLN). The ETF also features exposure to venerable names, such as Amazon.com Inc. (NasdaqGS:AMZN) and Netflix, Inc. (NasdaqGS: NFLX).

IBUY, which is comprised of global companies that generate at least 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales, has been one of the best-performing retail ETFs since its inception.

“Online retail sales only constitute 9% of total U.S. sales, and we believe e-commerce is a trend that will gain significant momentum well into the future,” said Christian Magoon, founder and CEO of Amplify ETFs. “IBUY presents a compelling opportunity for investors to capitalize on this robust growth potential within their traditional brick-and-mortar consumer discretionary and retail allocation.”

Online retail sales continue to gain ground over traditional retailers, rising over 2000% since 1999. The amount of online buyers around the world estimated to increase 57% from 2014 to 2019; Global online retail sales $1.5 trillion in 2015, expected to rise to $4.1 trillion in 2020.

“IBUY began trading on April 20, 2016 and seeks to replicate the price performance of the EQM Online Retail Index (IBUYXT). The rules-based index tracks a globally diverse basket of companies that fall into three online retail categories -- marketplace, travel and merchants -- all of which must generate 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales,” according to the statement.

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