After turning in some disappointing totals in January, the ETF industry is back to its growing ways after gaining $20 billion in new assets during February. Exchange traded products now hold $765 billion in assets under management, up from $745 billion in January. During February, 363 exchange traded products saw net inflows while 267 saw net outflows.

The S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) led the way in terms of new investments, gaining $1.5 billion in new cash during February after hemorrhaging $16 billion. With $70 billion in assets, SPY is far and away the largest ETF on the market. The next largest is the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) with $40 billion in assets under management.

I made my first retirement plan after my freshman year at college. Back at home, with one year of college under my belt, my good friend John and I were discussing our plans for the future. I don’t recall the entire conversation, but I do remember saying “my goal is to accumulate a million dollars, and then cash out and live off the interest.” I further explained that this plan would generate $50,000 a year since 5% interest seemed reasonable.

The year was 1974. I came from a blue-collar neighborhood where typical incomes were in the $10,000 to $15,000 range. Anyone making $20,000 was well above-average. I believed my plan would overcome inflation, and it was based on an extremely conservative income assumption – living off the interest while never touching the principal.

Little did I know when I signed up for a recent “distressed” debt summit (see previous article) that a federal official and state treasurer would be presenting as keynote speakers. After all, this conference was supposed to be catering to those professionals interested in high risk securities. Technically, California and the U.S. government are not classified as distressed yet, but nonetheless government heavy-hitters Matthew Rutherford (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Federal Finance at the U.S. Department of Treasury), and Bill Lockyer (Treasurer for the State of California) shared their perspectives on government debt and associated economic factors.

Why government officials at a distressed debt conference? After questioning a few organizers and attendees, I was relieved to discover the keynote speaker selections were made more as a function as a sign of challenging economic times, rather than to panic participants toward debt default expectations. As it turns out, the conference organizers packaged three separate conferences into one event – presumably for cost efficiencies (Distressed Investments Summit + Public Funds Summit + California Municipal Finance Conference).