As of 16 December there were 894 ETFs with assets of $887.2 billion from 28 providers on two exchanges in the US. At the end of December 2009 the US ETF industry had 772 ETFs and assets of $705.5 billion from 29 providers on two exchanges.

Year to date, 171 new ETFs have been launched in the US with another 828 new ETFs in the pipeline, while 49 ETFs were delisted.

There were 185 ETPs listed in the US with assets of $115.5 billion, from 20 providers on one exchange as of December 16. At the end of December 2009, there were 142 ETPs with assets of $88.1 billion from 17 providers on one exchange.

Growth in the US market for ETFs and ETPs reflects expansion in the use of the vehicle through retail channels, as well as their continuing popularity among institutional investors of all kinds, according to Deborah Fuhr, Global Head of ETF Research and Implementation Strategy at BlackRock.

Net new asset flows for US-listed ETFs for 2010 to date provide evidence of growing interest in both developed and emerging markets equity ETFs/ETPs, with these flows greater this year than in 2009, Fuhr added. At the same time, net new asset flows indicate less focus on fixed income and commodities.

Net new flows into North American equity ETFs/ETPs totaled $21 billion through November, compared with just $2 billion in 2009. Flows into emerging markets equity ETFs/ETPs overall totaled $29 billion through November, compared with $27 billion last year. Of this total, flows into “multi-region” emerging markets products totaled $26 billion year to date, compared with $16.7 billion last year.

Flows into fixed income products reached $31.2 billion, compared with $44.8 billion last year, while flows into commodity products have totaled $11.4 billion, compared with $32.6 billion last year.