Sunny Skies for ETFs

Global equity markets recovered in 2003, but the market for exchange-traded funds didn't. You don't have to recover if you never went down in the first place.

As Morgan Stanley analyst Debbie Fuhr details in a report out this week, ETFs had a banner year. Total assets for the equity products climbed to $211 billion in 2003 from $811 million. In fact the number of ETFs worldwide has jumped in the past 10 years to 280 from three. Most importantly, ETFs saw their greatest growth spurt during the market meltdown of 2001 to 2002, and throughout the mutual fund scandal of late 2003.

With such spectacular growth behind them, what's in store for ETFs going forward? ...