The Canadian exchange-traded funds (ETF) industry experienced impressive growth in 2013 and its ongoing success will be determined by how well providers respond to key investor needs. That’s according to a report released by BMO Global Asset Management, one of Canada’s leading ETF providers. The report notes that the growth of the Canadian ETF industry continued unabated in 2013 and currently stands at $63.1 billion in assets under management, up $5 billion over last year and an increase of 11.9 per cent over year-end 2012.

The Canadian exchange-traded fund industry will continue to maintain a strong position as investors seek out investment options to help them effectively manage ongoing market volatility, according to a bi-annual outlook published by BMO Global Asset Management, Canada’s second-largest ETF provider by assets.

There are now more than 300 exchange-traded products listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange following the launch of five exchange-traded funds from ETF debutant Purpose Investments, the firm founded by former Claymore Canada CEO, Som Seif. Ungad Chadda, Senior Vice President, Toronto Stock Exchange, said: “We are pleased to have achieved this new milestone and we are very proud of our solid track record of fostering innovation in the ETP universe.”

Goldman Sachs, Visa and Nike are to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, arguably the world’s most famous stock market gauge. They will replace Bank of America, Hewlett-Packard and Alcoa after the close of trading on Friday, 20th September. A number of exchange-traded funds listed around the world will be affected by the change, the largest being the NYSE Arca-listed SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), which has more than $11 billion in assets under management.

Vanguard has listed five new locally domiciled exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The new funds, which are based on equity indices, bring the total number of Vanguard ETFs on the TSX to 16. Earlier this year, the firm saw its TSX-listed ETF range surpass $1 billion in assets under management.

First Asset, an independent Canadian investment management company, has seen the highest percentage asset growth among Canadian exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers during the months of June and July, with C$47.5 million in ETF asset inflows. The firm has found success in both the fixed income and equity ETF categories through collaboration with DEX Universe Bond Indices and Morningstar Indices.

Guggenheim Investments, a US-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has expanded its suite of defined-maturity corporate bond ETFs with the launch of two new BulletShares funds on the NYSE Arca. The new funds, which are linked to indices developed by Accretive Asset Management, provide access to a diversified portfolio of corporate bonds with effective maturities in 2021 and 2022 respectively – the years in which the funds themselves mature.

BMO Financial Group’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business has enjoyed blistering growth in the four years since it was formed. Following its debut in June 2009, the Toronto-based business has grown to C$11 billion in assets under management (AUM) and 55 ETFs, offering exposure to equities, bonds and commodities.

Nasdaq OMX Global Indexes and Accretive Asset Management have formed a new partnership to promote and develop the BulletShares range of target-maturity corporate bond indices. The indices, which have been co-branded Nasdaq BulletShares Indexes, currently have more than $2.5 billion in exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets linked to them.

Stoxx, a leading index provider, has introduced the Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index. The index measures the performance of a buy-write or covered-call strategy based on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, the eurozone’s leading blue-chip equity index. The new index, which has been designed to underlie index-linked financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), represents a hypothetical portfolio of a long position in the Euro Stoxx 50 and a sold – or written – call option based on the same index.