The global exchange traded fund industry not only attracted record inflows it also racked up extraordinary growth in the breadth and depth of its offering last year.
An overall total of 1,503 ETFs and exchange traded commodities were launched, far ahead of the previous record of 873 recorded in 2018, according to data from Morningstar.
Just 264 ETFs were liquidated or merged out of existence, down from 510 in 2020 and the lowest figure since 2014, when the industry was a fraction of its current size. The low closure rate meant net growth in the ETF count of 1,239 was almost twice the previous record of 656, set in 2010 when the industry was just getting into its stride, Morningstar’s data suggest.