The Investment Company Institute, the main trade association for the $13.5 trillion U.S. mutual fund business, on Thursday launched a new website to “enhance public understanding” of exchange traded funds.
The new site, www.understandETFs.org, contains educational resources for ETF investors, including a Q&A designed to help investors to better understand the basics of ETF investing, the ICI said in a press release.
The U.S. ETF business totaled $1.2 trillion at the end of August. The ICI said 14 ETF firms were involved with the introduction of the new website.
“Business models and competition aside—this new website educates investors using the ETF industry’s collective thinking. We hope that investors, advisers and other market participants find it a useful tool,” said Jim Ross, ICI ETF Committee Chairman and Global Head of SPDR ETFs.
A recent study by Charles Schwab revealed that 81% of investors think ETFs are here to stay but that many still require more education.
While knowledge about ETFs is slowly spreading, with 39% of investors stating they know more about ETFs than a year ago, 45% of all investors still believe they are “novices” at ETFs. About 34% of ETF owners rate themselves as a “novice” and 57% believe they have “intermediate” knowledge.