Etfs: Coming Of Age

摘要

The financial world took it on the chin in 2008, and the drubbing continues. While exchange-traded funds are not immune to the global beat down, these flexible investment vehicles are showing serious staying power, while financial instruments of all types are tested.rnIf 2007 was the year that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) demonstrated they were major players in the financial arena, then 2008 was the year they came of age. Amid a persistent slide in equities, turmoil in interest rates, volatility in forex and massive swings in everything from crude oil to soybeans, ETFs remained in favor.rnAlthough the ETF industry as a whole lost assets in 2008, as did investment sectors during a global financial contraction, the market for these relatively new vehicles remained solid. According to the Investment Company Institute, an association representing U.S. investment companies, U.S. ETFs had combined assets of $478 billion in November 2008. While that was down from November 2007's $572 billion, it still represents an upward trend over time (see "Holding firm," right).