As mentioned in the latest ETF statistics report, 136 new US-listed exchange-traded products launched in 2009: 127 ETFs and nine ETNs. The 56 closures produced a net increase of 80 for the year.

The table below lists all 136 sorted by the first day the product was listed and available for purchase. The first trade may be a later date in some cases as a few products do not have any first-day volume. Also, the so-called “inception date” for many ETFs is typically recorded as being a day or two before it actually becomes listed and available for purchase.

There were 23 new ETFs and five new ETNs launched in November. No products were delisted. The net increase of 28 pushed the quantity of listed products to 908, the first time the count has been above 900.

In theory, each hundred new products should come quicker than the previous since it represents a smaller percentage increase. However, it took 18 months for the list to grow from 800 to 900 while the climb from 700 to 800 took just four months.

By Patrick Watson

Mutual fund behemoth Vanguard rolled out seven new bond ETFs this week. Collectively called “Vanguard Sector Bond Index Funds,” the new funds increase the number of Vanguard bond ETFs to 12 and the total Vanguard ETF count to 47. There wasn’t much fanfare about the launch and we wonder why Vanguard would make its move in a holiday week. Presumably someone thought it would be a good idea.