Charles Schwab ETFs and Beyond Study
This 11th annual study is based on a survey in the United States of 2,000 individual investors between the ages of 25 and 75 with at least $25,000 in investable assets, 1,000 of whom have bought or sold ETFs in the past two years and 1,000 of whom have not bought or sold ETFs within the past two years.
Schwab, found that ETF investors continue to view ETFs as a key part of their portfolios, with 80% saying ETFs are their vehicle of choice, up from 71% in 2020.
ETFs now make up 33% of ETF investor portfolios, up from 27% five years ago, which tracks to the rate of growth those surveyed by Schwab predicted in 2017. Looking ahead, ETF investors expect 40% of their portfolios to be in ETFs in the next five years. And an overwhelming majority (93%) expect to purchase ETFs in the next two years, while 41% of non-ETF investors are also likely to do so.
In the year ahead, ETF investors plan to invest in U.S. equities (56%), real assets (47%), fixed income (47%), and cryptocurrencies (46%) via ETFs. When it comes to specialty ETFs, they plan to invest in dividend ETFs (53%), long/short ETFs (34%) and leveraged ETFs (33%). Newer categories are gaining steam too with about one-third (32%) planning to purchase actively managed ETFs, 27% planning to purchase ESG ETFs and 26% planning to add thematic ETFs to their portfolios.