Canadian ETFs keep pace with U.S.

Article Excerpt

After a slow start in the early 1990s, the ETF industry gained traction around the turn of this century as more and more investors realized the benefits of making room for those funds in their portfolios. The global ETF industry has now gathered assets valued at $4.2 trillion U.S., spread across 13,125 listings in 56 countries. Growth in assets has been phenomenal, quadrupling over the past 10 years. Despite this rapid increase, the ETF industry is still only about 10% of the size of mutual funds. That points to the potential for further growth as investors look to shift out of higher-fee mutual funds. The U.S. has the largest ETF asset pool representing 75% of global assets; it’s followed by Europe with 12% and Asia with 4%. A total of 535 Canadian ETFs have gathered $108 billion U.S. in assets (2.5% of the global total). Industry growth—an average 22% per year over the last 10 years—has kept pace with global increases. increases…