Assets invested in equity exchange-traded funds linked to MSCI’s indexes reached an all-time high of $511bn on 27 January 2017, according to the index provider, up 28% from the same period a year earlier.

Diana Tidd, MSCI’s Head of Index Products.

“This milestone is a testament to the diversity of MSCI’s indexes and our ability to deliver innovative, high-quality products,” said Diana Tidd, MSCI’s Head of Index Products. “Following strong growth in 2016, we intend to maintain our leadership with the combination of innovation and quality that ETF providers expect from MSCI.”

MSCI reports that, with more than 900 ETFs tracking their indexes globally, more equity ETFs track MSCI’s indexes than those of any other index provider.

ETFs linked to MSCI’s indexes have grown their assets under management by $30bn since the start of the year, which includes inflows of $12bn and market appreciation of $17bn.

Reflecting the growing popularity of smart beta investing, MSCI reports that assets in ETFs linked to their factor indexes have reached $53bn globally.

MSCI serves 97 of the top 100 largest money managers, according to the most recent P&I ranking.