According to Barclays Global Investors research (ETF product iShares) “Global ETF assets have hit an all time high of $942bn at the end of October 2009, 0.9 per cent above the previous all time high of $933bn set in Q3 2009. At the end of October, the global ETF industry had 1,859 ETFs with 3,327 listings, assets of $941.85bn, from 97 providers on 40 exchanges around the world.”
The number of ETFs increased by 16.8 per cent with 336 new ETFs launched, while 73 ETFs were closed, according to the report.
Investor interest in ETFs has been rising over the past year with particular interest in commodities, precious metals and government bonds.
