The Investment Company Institute (ICI), the national association of the investment company industry, said that the combined assets of the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were $159.53 billion in February. That is up from $155.82 billion in January.
Of that total, $136.234 billion were in domestic equity index funds, with $17.852 billion in international equity index funds and $5.445 billion in bond index funds.
The Institute’s monthly statistical collection also includes the value of shares issued and redeemed by exchange-traded funds. An exchange-traded fun is an investment company with shares that trade intraday on stock exchanges at market-determined prices. Investors may buy or sell ETF shares through a broker as with any publicly-traded company.
ICI said that trust-issued receipts, such as Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS) are not included in the report because they are not issued by registered investment companies.