ETFs could face obstacles in 2025 after bumper year

U.S. exchange-traded funds could face more obstacles to their runaway growth in 2025 after a bumper year saw the products take in a record $1.1 trillion in inflows in 2024. Analysts attribute the popularity of the products to a combination of the bull market in the U.S., where the lion's share of ETFs is based, the advent of innovative cryptocurrency and options-based products and the growing preference by investors for lower-cost, liquid ETFs over mutual funds. Now, while many believe ETFs will top 2024's records in 2025, they are cautiously eyeing a new set of challenges ranging from how to navigate an increasingly crowded ETF arena to the ever-present question of innovation.