Additionally, Charles Schwab has also offers rock-bottom fees on fund products and the brokerage also came out with its commission-free OneSource ETF program to attract greater interest in its ETF line.
Branding has also helped sponsors get a leg up on the competition.
“In addition to first mover advantage and cost appeal, ETP providershave also leveraged their brand and expertise (often in the mutual fund space) to develop successful ETF produc lines and serve as the basis for their distribution strategy,” Lin said.
For example, Van Eck has capitalized on its expertise in managing gold and other commodity investments, WisdomTree utilized fundamental weighting methodologies, ProShares used strategies from its alternative mutual funds and PIMCO pulled from its active fund strategies.
For more information on the ETF industry, visit our current affairs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own SPY and GLD.