Twenty-five years ago today, the first ETF was listed on the TSX—that was the Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund, which tracked the TSX 35 index, and which was merged in March 2000 with what is now referred to as the S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF.
Following the launch of TIPs in 1990, three years passed before the first U.S. ETF (the SPDR S&P 500 ETF) was listed on January 29, 1993.
Read: ETFs turn 25
Since then, “the ETF industry has grown significantly, says Deborah Fuhr, managing partner of ETFGI, a research and consulting firm. “ETFs are now used by institutional investors, financial advisors and retail investors around the world,” and they offer access to developed, emerging and frontier markets.
As of the end of February, the global ETP industry consisted of 5,632 products, with 10,902 listings. Further, global assets under management have reached approximately US$2.9 trillion, and there are 245 providers listed on 63 exchanges in 52 countries.
Read: Which ETFs are hot?
In particular, the Canadian ETF industry consisted of 355 ETFs, with 502 listings. Assets under management have reached approximately US$65 billion, and there are 9 providers listed on the TSX—ETFGI data finds Canadian assets accounts for just 2.2% of the assets invested in ETPs globally.
Read: Canadians choose fixed-income over equity ETFs
Still, Canada listed the first equity fund, as well as the first fixed-income and currency-hedged funds.
Check out:
Refuting the myths around smart beta