The mutual fund industry has had little to celebrate over the past year or two as outflows have soared and assets under management have fallen. But if there is one chink of light in the gloom it is the exchange traded fund sector, which continued to attract inflows through 2008 and into 2009.

It is still a small part of the asset management industry, with total assets of $706.9bn (£462bn, €523bn) globally at the end of April, according to figures from Barclays Global Investors. But rising flows and trading volumes indicate growing interest among investors, who put nearly $270bn into ETFs in 2008, according to Strategic Insight, a consultancy. Credit Suisse reports that ETFs now account for 25 per cent of all trading in US markets compared with 15 per cent a year ago.