The combined assets of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) stood at $161.70 billion in March, up from $159.5 billion in February, according to the Investment Company Institute.
An exchange-traded fund 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 just as they would the shares of any publicly traded company.
Statistics contained in the Institute’s monthly ETF report have been obtained from information provided to ICI by exchange-traded funds. 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.
Assets held in domestic equity indexes totaled $135.6 billion, down from $136.2 a month earlier while global stock index assets tipped the scales at $20.1 billion, up from $17.9 billion in February while bond index assets hit $6.1 billion, up from $5.4 billion the previous month.