The global exchange traded products (ETP) industry has reached record levels in January, as the industry continues to expand into new asset classes, according to research from iShares.
The ETP market surpassed a milestone of $2 trillion in assets under management this month, following on from a record breaking 2012, which saw fixed income ETPs and emerging market equity ETPs reaching net inflows of $70bn and $54.8bn respectively.
"The dynamics of the ETP market are changing and developing," BlackRock global head of ETP research Dodd Kittsley said.
"ETP providers are expanding and deepening their coverage of different asset classes and regions, allowing investors to put ETPs to use in new ways and employ them to access areas where they couldn't before, such as emerging market debt."
Australian-listed ETPs have also seen a boost, growing by 30 per cent in 2012 to reach more than $700m of new asset inflows.
More than half of the Australian-listed ETP inflows went into the iShares range of international and Australian equity ETFs.
"There is increasing recognition that ETFs are effective tools for investors who want to access new opportunities, or where they want to efficiently navigate changing market sentiment," iShares head of Australia Mark Oliver told InvestorWeekly.
"Australian ETP growth has averaged almost 30 per cent per year since 2001 and we expect that this rate will continue as investors embrace the product category and the range of investing options increases."
