Investors poured $705bn into exchange-traded funds through the first seven months of the year, pushing 2021’s worldwide tally to a record $9.1trn, according to data from Morningstar Inc.

Net flows so far this year have nearly eclipsed the $736.5bn investors had moved into ETFs globally in all of 2020. Most of the cash has gone into cheap, index-tracking funds, with large-cap and short-term bond ETFs, as well as products offering inflation protection, attracting significant investor interest, according to the data.