Le point sur les Exchange Traded Funds

Initially launched with success in the North-American markets, ETFs started trading European markets in 2000. From then on, these index funds that trade on a continuous basis progressively took a significant part in index products trading. In this paper, we present the history of ETFs and the current state of the European ETF markets. Then, we explain their specificities and their trading process. Finally, we review the literature addressing the performance of ETFs, their efficiency and the impact they have on related products.