Stronger markets last year helped drive assets of ETFs and ETPs higher, with some net inflows from clients contributing to the gains.

(Updated with Japan data in final paragraph.)

Assets invested in Asia-listed exchange traded funds and products (excluding those listed in Japan) surged by 31.4 per cent in 2017 to hit a record of $170.3 billion, highlighting how low-cost index-tracking vehicles won over investors as markets rose strongly according to ETFGI.

Year-to-date, through end of December 2017, ETFs and ETPs listed in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) saw net inflows of $6.54 billion.

The 31.4 per cent rise represents the greatest growth in assets since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis.

ETFs are typically open-ended, index-based funds, with active ETFs and can be bought and sold like ordinary shares on a stock exchange and offer broad exposure across developed, emerging and frontier markets, equities, fixed income and commodities. Exchange traded products are products that have similarities to ETFs in the way they trade and settle but do not use an open-end fund structure. The use of other structures including unsecured debt, grantor trusts, partnerships, and commodity pools by ETPs can, in addition to a significantly different risk profile, create different tax and regulatory implications for investors when compared to ETFs, which are funds.

Separately, ETFGI reported that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan increased by 59.2 per cent during 2017 to reach a new high of $275.84 Bn at the end of December.