The growth of the global exchange-trade fund industry was spurred on by leading ETF provider MSCI.

Assets in exchange-traded funds linked to MSCI indexes grew over 12 per cent during the first quarter of 2015 to hit a record level of $418 billion, said MSCI, the provider of research-based indexes and analytics.

Over the three-month period, ETF providers launched 56 products based on MSCI indexes – three times more than the next index provider.

There are now over 730 ETFs tracking MSCI indexes worldwide, while assets in those tracking the MSCI USA Quality Index surpassed the $1 billion mark, the firm said.

“Following strong growth in the number of ETFs tracking our indexes in 2014, this year is off to a record-setting start,” said the managing director and global head of products at MSCI, Baer Pettit. 

“As the industry grows in size and complexity, we intend to maintain our position as the first choice of ETF providers who are looking for both leading-edge innovation and exceptional quality.”

The growth of the ETF/ETP industry was further highlighted by independent research and consultancy firm ETFGI, which reported that assets in ETF/ETPs listed globally reached $2.99 trillion at the end of April.

The US took the lion's share with a record $2.13 trillion, while Europe reached $511 billion. Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) hit $125 billion, while Japan has $112 billion. Canada stood at $69.9 billion.

“Market performance outside the US contributed to the overall increase in assets invested in ETFs/ETPs. Developed and emerging markets had a very good month, gaining 5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, while in the US the S&P 500 and Dow were up less than 1 per cent,” said Deborah Fuhr, managing partner of ETFGI.