According to the National Stock Exchange, the combined assets of all U.S. exchange-traded funds were $534.58 billion at the end of 2008. This figure represents around a 13.5 percent decline from 2007 when ETF assets ended the year at $617.73 billion.
Despite the fall in ETF assets under management, investor demand for these low-cost index funds hasn't subsided. The net cash flow in ETFs climbed to $178.39 billion last year from $149.02 in 2007.