Broadridge Financial Solutions, a London-based provider of financial market analysis, has released its quarterly ‘fund distribution intelligence’ report, which found that the exchange traded fund industry reached a peak of $2.2tn last year, while mutual fund assets declined.

The report looks at the flows and asset performance of long-term mutual funds and ETFs from a variety of providers and with combined assets of  $9tn. The research showed that the mutual fund industry experienced a decrease of $161bn in its global asset base during 2015 to $7.3tn, while assets in ETFs increased.

Boosted by strong growth through retail distribution channels, the ETF industry surpassed $2.2tn in AUM, according to Broadridge financial solutions.

Frank Polefrone, senior vice president of Broadridge’s data and analytics business, commented: “The increased use of passive investments across all distribution channels accelerated in 2015. Our analysis shows that passively managed index and ETF assets increased by two percent during 2015, while actively managed funds and ETFs saw a one percent decrease. We expect this trend to continue in 2016, as the increased usage of ETFs and index funds continues for core allocations.”

Retail distribution channels saw growth of passive product usage grow by 2.6% while institutional channels reported increases of 1.6%, bringing an average growth rate of 2% across all channels.

The report shows that ETFs now account for 26% of overall assets held by retail distributors. Registered investment advisors and online retail shareholders utilizing discount brokerage firms are market leaders in this regard, holding 30% and 58% of total assets in passive products respectively. Alternatively, independent broker dealers continue to be the highest users of active funds, holding more than 80 percent in these investments.