The seed money for new exchange traded funds (ETFs) is disappearing and this represents a fundamental shift in the industry, with the need to sow some new terrain. The dynamic of the industry has shifted from trading to assets as the way to drive the industry. Jim Wiandt in Seeking Alpha reminisces about how the ETF industry was created in order to bring increased trading value to the American Stock Exchange, and it worked. Now the focus in on asset gathering, margin expansion and the end game. It will be interesting to see how ETFs hold up in a fully, non-specialist system, if they go that way. And it might as the NYSE Arca moves all their ETFs from the traditional platform onto the Arca electronic platform this fall.
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.