The money invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) globally has surpassed that in hedge funds for the first time ever, according to research published today.
Research and consultancy firm ETFGI today revealed there was $2.971trn invested in ETFs at the end of June, while a report from Hedge Fund Research found there was $2.969trn in hedge funds.
The achievement for the ETF industry comes after many years in which the passive index trackers have received significantly higher inflows than the hedge fund industry.
ETFGI’s research found in 2014 $339.7bn of new money was invested in ETFs while only $76.4bn was invested in hedge funds.
The surpassing of the hedge fund industry by ETFs had been predicted by ETFGI earlier this year and the firm “significant achievement for the global ETF/ETP industry”.
The firm said the achievement was remarkable given the ETF industry has only been in existence for the past 25 years, whereas hedge funds have been around for 66 years.
