Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, were a hot commodity last year.
Investors in Canada had directed $30-billion into ETFs at the end of 2009, up 40 per cent from a year earlier, according to BlackRock Inc., the biggest player in the field through its iShares products.
The trend matches a global pattern, which saw worldwide ETF holdings rise to $1-trillion in 2009, up from $711-billion a year earlier.
The gains far outpace the assets added by mutual fund companies. Canadian ETF assets have grown by 30 per cent over the past five years compared with growth of 6 per cent in the mutual fund sector, BlackRock says.
ETFs account for almost 5 per cent of all mutual fund assets in Canada, or approximately $686-billion, compared with just 3 per cent a year ago, the firm adds.
“Without question, ETFs have become a popular and widely accepted tool that has fundamentally changed how institutional and retail investment advisors view the markets,” Heather Pelant, head of iShares Canada, said in a news release.
