The following news shouldn’t come as a shock: namely, U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products ended 2017 with record asset levels.
According to the industry research and consulting firm ETFGI, the combined ETF/ETP complex in the U.S. ended last year with invested assets of $3.42 trillion, a 34.3 percent leap over 2016 and the biggest single-year bump since 2009.
The increase comes both from share price appreciation and new inflows. Regarding the latter, last year saw record net inflows of $468 billion into U.S.-listed ETFs and ETPs, which was double the average for net inflows over the previous five years.
And in a case of the big getting bigger, ETFGI reports that 18 of the top 20 ETFs in terms of net inflows were either iShares or Vanguard funds. The lone exceptions were the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF).
Among ETPs, the top 10 list regarding net inflows was a more diverse mix that included products from iShares, VelocityShares, iPath, United States Commodity Funds, UBS and a SPDR offering.