Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have come a long way in the investment world. Today, there are more than 900 listed funds in the United States, with assets totaling around $800 billion.
At the end of 2008, more than 2,900 institutions held ETFs, which comes to a 15% growth on a year-over-year basis, writes Paula Vasan for ai5000. ETFs are also becoming even more popular, aided by the introduction of internationally-focused funds and actively-managed funds.
Tom Anderson, vice president and three-year veteran of State Street Global Advisors, said that “emerging market investing is becoming a strategic part of investor portfolios, especially for pension endowments, and foundations.
As of June 30, U.S.-listed ETFs that track international indexes have become the second-largest ETF category, holding abut 22% of total ETF assets in the United States. [The Growing Case for International ETFs.]
The other new addition to the ETF universe may be a strange concept to some ETF investors, but active management is still in its very early stages and has potential for growth in the future. If anything, their numbers will be growing: mutual funds, existing ETF providers and large banks are filing with the SEC for actively-managed ETFs. [Actively Managed ETFs a Flop? Not So Fast.]
For more information on global or actively-managed ETFs, visit our Global ETFs or Actively-Managed ETFs categories.
Max Chen 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.