The second-largest exchange traded fund provider State Street (NYSE: STT) reported quarterly results this week and the company’s earnings were boosted by growth in the ETF business.
Boston-based State Street on Tuesday said its third-quarter profit rose from the year-ago period.
“We also continue to have success in our ETF product line … representing positive flows [of $13 billion]into ETFs during the quarter — mainly into our larger ETF funds such as SPDRs, gold, and fixed income,” said Joseph Hooley, State Street CEO, during the conference call.
“But also of note is the success we’ve experienced in the 54 newer, more complex ETF products we introduced over the past 18 months,” he added.
Rival BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) announced ETF fee cuts this week after Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) recently unveiled lower expense ratios at its ETF lineup. Vanguard has also switched indices at several ETFs, which will allow it to slash costs. [BlackRock Hits Back at Vanguard, Schwab with iShares ETF Fee Cuts]
“I think underpinning the BlackRock and the Vanguard statements have been an industry that’s growing pretty rapidly and has a pretty attractive growth rate,” State Street’s Hooley said.