Schwab survey finds more investors looking to embrace ETFs

By Suzanne McGee

(Reuters) – Nearly half of investors who have not yet added exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to their portfolios say they are likely to change their minds, according to a Schwab Asset Management survey released on Thursday.

Forty-eight percent of survey respondents who said they had not yet bought an ETF said they would be likely to do so within the next two years, the survey showed. That figure compares to 41% in Schwab’s 2022 survey. Meanwhile 34% of non-ETF investors say they want to learn more about the products, up from 27% a year ago.

Diversification was the main reason for investors’ interest in ETFs, with 62% of investors citing it as a key factor. Meanwhile, 36% cited the low fee structure of ETFs.

ETFs have exploded in size over the last decade, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. Today, assets invested in U.S.-domiciled ETFs total $7 trillion, up from $1.6 trillion in October 2013. The number of ETFs available to investors also has soared, to 3,317 from 1,282 a decade ago.

Schwab said only a minority of investors reacted to economic and political headwinds by taking money out of ETFs. Anxiety over a potential economic recession was the top worry for investors, the survey found. But while 23% of respondents withdrew money from ETFs on recession fears, 51% reacted to the same concern by increasing their ETF holdings.

Millennials appear to be more comfortable with ETFs than other demographic groups, the survey showed. Eighty-nine percent of millennials named ETFs as their investment vehicle of choice, compared to 67% for baby boomers.

Schwab’s survey also found millennials are more eager to invest in fixed income. This group said they have invested an average of 45% of their portfolio’s assets in bonds, while baby boomers have allocated only 31% to fixed income.