The exchange traded fund market, by any number of measures, continues to grow and that trajectory appears to be firmly intact.  According to www.nsx.com, the assets in ETFs have grown from $460 million in February 2009 to $765 million in February 2010 and closed out last month at $1.05 billion.  In a mere two years, assets in ETFs have more than doubled, up 128%.  The number of ETFs has also exploded over the last several years from 843 two years ago to 1135 today.  And, that is pretty incredible growth considering the fact that the first ETF began trading in 1993.  And, the asset growth is not coming because the market is going up, but because new assets are coming in.  In fact, during the same time period, from February 2009 to February 2011, the S&P 500 is only up 78%, the iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG) is only up 4.39%, and the iShares MSCI EAFE index (EFA) is up 75.92%, which shows that new money is coming into ETFs.  

Despite the tremendous growth in this product, investor knowledge of the ETF product is still at the beginning of the curve.  More than 60 percent of investors, including high-net-worth individuals, don’t use ETFs because they don’t know what they are, according to Chicago-based consultancy Mintel Comperemedia (ETFR, Feb. 2011).  The results of the Mintel study dovetail with two separate studies from TD Ameritrade and Schwab that showed just 15 percent of retail investors are using ETFs.  There are many different ways you can educate yourself about the ETF product, including reading the daily articles and using the tools on this website.  Another terrific resource is from the ETF providers themselves.  Most providers provide a variety of resources on their website to educate investors about the ETF product.  Below we have tried to compile the most complete list possible of ETF providers showing their website and a link to basic ETF education on their website.  Move to the head of the class and keep yourself education on one of the products we think will continue to revolutionize the way people invest.