Competition in the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry has branched out beyond product offerings to who can offer the lowest price.
Apparently, not cutting fees and lowering expense ratios to keep up with the competition is more costly than actually doing it. Vanguard can attest – the low-cost ETF provider has seen its assets surge this year as the pricing issue has garnered more attention. [ETF Fees: How Low Can They Go?]
Charles Schwab has also benefited from its low-cost structure in both its ETFs and its brokerage platform. A little more than a year after their ETFs came to market, they boast more than $2 billion in assets and are the largest ETF custodian. [Vanguard: Serious About the ETF Business.]
It’s becoming clear that investors are not only concerned about getting returns and high-quality products, but they don’t want to pay a premium to own them. As more providers realize the appeal of low-cost, we expect to see more volleys in the price wars. In the end, there’s just one winner: you.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.