Advisers view ETFs as ingenious invention

As an innovation, ETFs have no peer. According to a survey of 840 advisers released yesterday, 67% identified exchange traded funds as the most innovative investment vehicle of the last two decades. Fully 60% reported that ETFs had fundamentally changed the way they construct investment portfolios. State Street Global Advisors of Boston and Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, produced the survey. "Exchange traded products have become an increasingly vital investment vehicle for financial intermediaries," Anthony Rochte, senior managing director of SSgA, said in a statement. "By incorporating ex-change traded products into sector rotation, core satellite, tax management and portfolio completion strategies, advisers are simultaneously managing costs and risk, which helps underscore their value proposition and strengthen relationships with clients." Asked about the greatest potential growth arena for ETFs, 43% of advisers cited 401(k) retirement plans, and 27% singled out actively managed ETFs — which only recently have been introduced in the marketplace.