BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), the money managing firm behind the iShares name, is cutting its global market outlook on exchange traded funds (ETFs) as the prolonged Eurozone debt saga has kept equity markets suppressed.
“We now expect the global ETF market to grow by 10 to 15% in 2011,” Kevin Feldman, ETF market analyst at BlackRock, said, reducing their projected asset growth in ETFs from 20% to 30%, according to a Financial Post article.
“Our previous forecast from January was based on the average growth rate of the past five years,” Feldman said. “At the beginning of this year, it wasn’t clear for example, how big the euro zone crisis would be and how that would affect equity markets.” [Markets, Stock ETFs Take a Dive on Growing E.U. Concerns]
The MSCI Global Equity Index shows a 7% drop year-to-date.
Total assets under management in the global ETF market was $1.39 trillion as of the end of October, up 6% for the year so far, with most of the ETF inflows piling in during October when investors wanted greater ETF positions to participate in broad market rally, Feldman added.
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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.