GLOBAL- Assets invested in exchange traded funds listed on European exchanges grew more than 800% in 2001 to top $5.6bn (e6.3bn) according to research by Morgan Stanley. Recent figures show there are 71 ETFs with 92 listings on six European exchanges.

Europe experienced the largest increase in ETFs launched during 2001 with 65 new products coming to the market. In addition there were 21 cross listings on other European exchanges during the year.

The number of exchange rated funds world wide has more than doubled in 2001 from 92 to 202. Of the 110 new ETFs launched in the past year, 21 were listed in the US, the rest outside the US.

Growth in assets invested in ETFs worldwide grew an impressive but less spectacular 300% taking the total to almost $105bn at the end of the year.

Morgan Stanley claims ETFs offer numerous investment opportunities and can be used for core equity holdings, sector and style plays as well as diversification. They also serve as efficient portfolio hedging tools.

Topics