In a financial services version of Woodstock 2012, more than a dozen exchange-trade fund providers including iShares, Vanguard and State Street have come together in an attempt to make ETFs as much a part of retail investors’ lexicon as mutual funds.
Under Investment Company Institute’s ETF Committee leadership, 14 ETF firms is banding together to launch a new
Other firms joining in the initiative include: AdvisorShares Investments, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Columbia Management, db-X ETFs, First Trust Portfolios, FlexShares, Guggenheim Investments, Invesco PowerShares, iShares, Pacific Investment Management Company, ProShares, and Market Vectors.
“As the ETF Committee met to discuss industry issues, an opportunity for our firms to come together to help investors better understand our products—which are considered to be one of the most significant investing innovations that exist today—became clear,” stated Jim Ross, ICI ETF Committee Chairman and Global Head of SPDR ETFs.
“Business models and competition aside—this new website educates investors using the ETF industry’s collective thinking. We hope that investors, advisers and other market participants find it a useful tool.”
