The sector, coming up for its 15th anniversary from when State Street launched the first "Spider" fund in the US, is humming. Spider is the short form of Standard & Poor's Depository Receipt, or "SPDR", the first exchange-traded fund that tracked the S&P 500 Index.
Morgan Stanley estimates that worldwide, as of end November 2007, there were 1,137 ETFs with 1,847 listings, assets of $773.2 billion, managed by 73 managers on 42 exchanges. The US has the largest number of products and assets under management: 583 ETFs and $550.2 billion, followed by Europe with 412 ETFs and $134.8 billion and Japan with 15 ETFs and $35.3 billion. Worldwide ETF assets under management increased by 36.7% over the first three quarters of last year, which is greater than the 8.6% rise in the MSCI World benchmark in dollar terms.
Average daily trading volumes have increased significantly, according to Morgan Stanley data. By the end of last year, the worldwide 20-day average daily trading volumes in US dollar increased by 264.7% to $89.6 billion from $24.6 billion at year-end 2006. The range and diversity of product is also evident. An estimated 499 ETFs are expected to be launched through 2008: 51 in Europe, 390 in the US and 58 in the rest of the world.