Record Flows, AI, Investor Education: Insights From the BMO Creator Forum

• The Canadian ETF market has grown far beyond simple index funds. Today, investors use ETFs to build entire portfolios. 
• Industry net inflows surpassed $100 billion significantly earlier this year, driven by equity strategies and alternative assets like gold.
• Investors are looking beyond pure-play tech stocks to utilities and infrastructure to capture the broader artificial intelligence buildout.

The event opened with remarks from Zayla Saunders, vice president of ETF online distribution at BMO ETFs, who explored the growing influence of financial creators on investor education. Saunders then moderated a discussion with Erin Allen, director of online distribution, and Kevin Prins, managing director and head of advisor sales and digital distribution, on how the domestic ETF industry has evolved since the pandemic.

The panel highlighted how ETF issuers now embrace digital channels and creator partnerships to connect institutional expertise with everyday investors. While traditional financial institutions initially approached the creator economy cautiously, the panelists acknowledged how digital engagement is now an important way to connect with and educate investors.

If one message resonated throughout the day, it was that ETFs have evolved far beyond their origins as simple index-tracking vehicles. Reflecting on the industry’s early years, Prins recalls a time when many investors questioned whether ETFs would ever become a meaningful part of the investment landscape.

“People said, ‘A bank in the ETF business? Why would you do that?’” Prins recalled. 

When he entered the industry in 2010, ETFs were largely associated with broad-market index exposure. Looking back, Prins noted how much the ETF industry has changed. Early ETF adoption was largely driven by investors seeking broad market exposure, but fixed income ETFs have since become one of the fastest-growing areas of the market. As ETFs evolved beyond simple index-tracking products, investors began using them as portfolio-building tools, with bond ETFs helping make fixed income investing more accessible and easier to trade.

Investor education emerged as another recurring theme. Allen reflected on the post-pandemic period, when market volatility drove a surge in investor questions — not just about products, but about market mechanics.

Discussions around trading halts, circuit breakers, and market structure became commonplace as investors sought clarity amid uncertainty. For ETF providers, the experience reinforced a broader responsibility.

With self-directed investing on the rise, ETF issuers have become important educators, helping investors navigate products, portfolio construction, and market mechanics.

The discussion shifted to market trends during a panel on key investment themes and portfolio positioning. Hosted by Braden Dennis, co-founder and CEO of Fiscal.ai and host of The Canadian Investor Podcast, the session featured Matt Montemurro, managing director and head of fixed income and equity index ETFs at BMO ETFs; Bipan Rai, head of ETF and alternatives strategy at BMO ETFs; and Jennifer Lee, director of institutional ETF sales at CIBC Capital Markets.

Lee highlighted the continued acceleration of ETF adoption in Canada, noting that industry net inflows surpassed $100 billion year to date significantly earlier than in previous years. “Investors are increasingly using ETFs as a tool to implement their investment decisions and help navigate uncertainty,” she said.

Equity ETFs continue to attract the majority of flows, accounting for roughly 70% of year-to-date demand, while fixed income and multi-asset strategies remain popular among investors seeking diversification. Lee emphasized that flows should be viewed relative to assets under management, arguing that growth rates provide a clearer picture of investor adoption than baseline asset numbers.

See More: Canada’s ETF Boom Nears the Trillion-Dollar Mark

Artificial intelligence remains one of the most discussed investment themes in the market. However, panelists argued that investors may be overlooking some of the biggest beneficiaries.

“The sector that’s impacted more, beyond just the technology sector, is going to be utilities and infrastructure,” Lee said.

Rather than focusing exclusively on software companies and semiconductor manufacturers, she pointed to the broader ecosystem supporting AI growth, including power generation, energy infrastructure, and data center development. The discussion highlighted how AI’s impact extends far beyond technology companies. 

Montemurro highlighted another trend gaining momentum among investors: the growing role of gold in portfolios.

Historically, gold was often viewed as a short-term hedge during periods of market uncertainty. Today, many advisors and institutions are increasingly treating it as a long-term portfolio allocation.

Rai added that the strong growth in ETF adoption reflects both positive market sentiment and the large amount of household savings that investors are putting back to work. As markets continue to evolve and uncertainty remains, he expects real assets, commodities, and income-focused strategies to play an important role in portfolios. Rai also pointed to infrastructure and gold as two areas he believes could continue to attract investor interest through the rest of the year. He also highlighted covered call strategies as a way for investors to generate income while maintaining exposure to growth sectors.

The broader commodities category has been one of the fastest-growing areas of the ETF market, reflecting continued demand for returns that don’t rely on traditional stock and bond markets or additional diversification. 

The concentration risk emerging within major equity benchmarks, where a handful of megacap technology stocks account for an outsized share of market performance. “We’re going to start to see the winners and losers play out,” Montemurro said.

As the AI investment cycle matures, panelists suggested investors may increasingly use strategies designed to spread risk more evenly across a portfolio, in order to manage concentration risk and broaden exposure. Dennis added that investors should distinguish between enthusiasm surrounding AI as a long-term theme and the valuations of individual companies.

“AI as a theme is not overvalued,” he said. The challenge, panelists agreed, will be identifying the businesses best positioned to turn AI investments into real profits. 

One of the more interesting discussions centered on how market participants utilize ETF flows themselves. As ETF adoption has expanded, flows have become a useful way to see where investors are putting their money. 

By tracking where capital is moving, investors can gain insight into new trends and shifts in investor behavior. Panelists pointed to a recent single-day gold ETF purchase of roughly $350 million as an example of how flows can signal shifts in investor behavior before broader narratives take hold.

“ETFs are a great exposure vehicle, but they’re also a great source of information.” 

The ETF industry is becoming less about products and more about helping investors solve portfolio challenges. Innovation remains important, but panelists argued that education, transparency, and investor trust will be equally critical to the industry’s next stage of development.

The first part of the event concluded with a simple but important message: Trust matters. Markets will always fluctuate, but asset managers can control how they communicate, educate, and support investors. As access to investment products and information continues to expand, helping investors navigate increasingly complicated markets will prove just as important as launching the next generation of ETFs.

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