Surge in ETFs tracking Standard & Poor's indexes

With more than 300 ETFs now tracking its indexes, S&P says its ETF business is becoming increasingly global, and that licensing operations are well positioned to contribute to growth this year.

S&P broadens its appeal in the ETF market

The total number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the Standard & Poor's (S&P) family of indexes has leapt to 301, with 95 ETFs launched in 2010 alone.

The index provider says it saw exceptional growth last year, with 57 of the new ETFs tracking S&P indexes listed outside the US. The biggest rise was in Europe, where product providers launched 29 new ETFs linked to S&P indexes.

“What was interesting was not the sheer number of launches but the fact that it was geographically widespread,”