ETFs Use Anything for Attention to Crack Tough Market

Count this as the year of thematic ETFs, as firms brought out funds based on outer space, pet care, music streaming, and just about anything else you can think of in an attempt to attract investors in an increasingly competitive environment.

With plain vanilla exchange-traded funds based on major indexes already saturating the market, even large issuers are now launching thematic products, with strategies that favor quirky, niche categories like self-driving cars, artificial intelligence or pet care. More of these products were launched in 2018 than in any other year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Their staying power, however, is up for debate, as certain narrowly focused products bled assets or folded.