Another Explosive Year for ETFs

It was another fantastic year for my favorite investment vehicles, exchange-traded funds or ETFs. To show you just how great a year it was, consider a few of the following statistics:

At the end of 2005 there were a total of 221 ETFs in the market.

At the end of 2006 the total ETF count was 369.

At the end of 2007 the total ETF count is 628.

My friends, this is a jump of 259 ETFs this year alone. During the past two years the market added 407 ETFs! Now that is what I call popularity, and that popularity is really catching fire among not only individual investors, but also retirement plan administrators, hedge fund managers and just about anyone who wants to get their money allocated to a variety of market segments in the easiest, lowest cost and most efficient manner available today.

I have no doubt that 2008 will be another banner year for the growth of ETFs, and to that I say, bravo! There is nothing I like better than seeing a plethora of user-friendly, low-cost products come out of Wall Street, and you can be sure that I will continue my vociferous advocacy of ETFs into next year and beyond.