The 87 percent ETF usage revealed in the 2018 survey was up from 72 percent in 2010 and just 44 percent in 2008. Also, 46 percent of respondents said they plan to increase their use or recommendation of ETFs over the next year, which was down slightly from 50 percent a year earlier, according to the survey.
By comparison, 19 percent of advisors said they plan to increase their use of mutual funds, while the same percentage said the same about individual stocks.