Advisers supporting ETF use
Advisers are playing a key role in helping Australian investors accept and use exchange traded funds (ETFs), according to research from iShares.
More than half of individual investors employ financial advice, according to an ETF share register analysis conducted by iShares in March. Self-managed super fund (SMSF) investors also continued to boost ETF assets, the report found.
“The benefits of ETFs — transparency, cost effective diversification and the fact that they can trade them on the ASX [Australian Securities Exchange] — really speak to the SMSF market,” said iShares director Tom Keenan.
“Many SMSF investors like the do-it-yourself ease of trading ETFs just like shares, but almost equally they are using financial advisers as a sounding board and a source of professional insight,” he said.
The Australian ETF market surpassed global ETF market growth of 45.7 per cent in 2009 and continues to break new ground, according to ASX business development manager Jonathan Morgan.
“The latest ASX figures show that the 12-month average ETF trades as of March 2010 were 14,439, or 44 per cent more than they were 12 months ago,” he said.
“ETF market capitalisation increased 150 per cent in the past 12 months to a record $3.2 billion at the end of March 2010.”
Local ETF growth is expected to continue due to an increase in choice and more investors understanding their benefits, according to iShares.
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