Vanguard's share of the ETF market grew from 8.5 percent at the end of December to 11 percent, Bloomberg reports, citing figures from State Street Corp. The article notes that although Vanguard was late to the ETF party -- it launched its products in 2001 -- low fees helped the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based firm attract assets. The third largest ETF sponsor, Vanguard captured more than 30 percent of ETF flows this year by charging an average of 15 bps versus 54 bps for the industry, according to Morningstar data.

"If the price is low enough, investors will vote with their wallets," Morningstar director of ETF analysis Scott Burns was quoted in the article as saying.

The article did not mention Schwab's entrance to the ETF space and how that might impact the ETF landscape. On Tuesday, Schwab is set to launch four ETFs and another four are due out next month, with expense ratios ranging from 8 bps to 35 bps. Most of Schwab's ETFs carry fees that are as low, or lower, than those of Vanguard and other rivals. Schwab clients can buy and sell the eight ETFs commission-free through Schwab.com.

According to the article, Vanguard now has $77 billion in ETF assets after chalking up $17.8 billion of inflows this year. iShares -- which, along with the rest of Barclays Global Investors, is about to become part of BlackRock -- continues to lead the market with $346 billion. iShares drew in $25 billion this year. 

Edited by: InvestmentWires Staff, 


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