Global ETFs assets break $1 trillion mark
Global exchange traded funds (EFTs) assets broke through the $1 trillion mark at the end of December 2009, a rise of 45.2 per cent from the end of 2008, according to BlackRock.
In its recently published ETF Landscape Year End 2009 preview report, BlackRock stated the global ETF industry had 1,939 ETFs with 3,775 listings and assets of US$1,032 billion from 109 providers on 40 exchanges around the world at the end of last year.
It added that challenging market conditions in 2008 caused a significant shift in investors’ risk appetite in evaluation of counterparty risk and desire for liquidity.
Over the past decade, the compound annual growth rate for ETF assets globally was 56.3 per cent, 58.1 per cent in the US, 53.1 per cent in Canada and 90.5 per cent in Europe, showing no signs of fading interest among investors. During the year, fixed income, equity and commodity-based ETFs enjoyed heavy inflows as some investors adjusted their risk profiles, with investments in areas previously shunned for a year and a half gaining increased investments from March onwards.
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