ETFs step into the spotlight

As concerns over counterparty risk continue to drive inflows into exchange-traded funds, Richard Jory asks some of the market’s leading practitioners to offer their thoughts on how an increasingly attractive investment market looks set to develop

Do you expect counterparty risk concerns to remain at the forefront of investors’ minds in 2010? And if so, how do you plan to counter these worries?

Isabelle Bourcier, Paris-based global head of Lyxor ETF: We believe that the fear of counterparty risk among investors has subsided somewhat, though that could all change if global economies and financial markets turn negative again, resulting in bankruptcies of financial firms.

While counterparty risks in ETFs are real, they are sometimes overblown