Flows into exchange-traded products remained strong last month, and Q3 was the strongest quarter of the year so far for the sector, figures show.

Global exchange-traded product flows registered $39.8 billion in August, with the bulk - $26.7 billion - going into equities, according to data from BlackRock.

Fixed income gathered $11.6 billion, concentrated around three exposures: broad market; US investment-grade corporates and emerging market debt.

Meanwhile, there was a “drastic slowdown” in flows to commodities, compared with volumes seen thus far in 2016. 

“Emerging markets, across both equity and fixed income, stole the show this month,” said Ursula Marchioni, chief strategist at iShares for the EMEA region. 

“A benign dollar, stable oil and decent data in China, coupled with positive signs from the earnings side, explains why ETP equity flows into this sector show no sign of abating. For fixed income, the search for yield which is on-going globally is also a strong supportive point.”

She added: “Over the past six months, gold has been a standout for ETP flows. With over $1 billion of inflows into gold in August, it is worth noting that this is half the amount that was recorded in July and a quarter of that witnessed in May and June. Despite the recent fall in the gold price, we still consider gold to be attractive from a diversification perspective.”