By Marlize van Romburgh Monday, November 29th, 2010

[wikichart align=”right” ticker=”HYLD” showannotations=”true” livequote=”true” startdate=”02-08-2010″ enddate=”02-02-2011″ width=”300″ height=”245″]Exchange-traded funds are stealing the show as investors shy away from stocks, mutual funds and other traditional investment vehicles. ETFs held a record $940 billion in assets in the U.S. at the end of October, according to investment magazine Barrons, and are on track to hit $1 trillion in assets at the end of this year.

Jumping on the fast-moving trend is Santa Barbara-based Peritus Asset Management, which launches the first actively managed, high-yield ETF in the country on Dec. 3. The Peritus ETF will focus on corporate bonds — already the investment firm’s niche — and other high-yield debt securities and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HYLD.

ETFs are like mutual funds, but more flexible and user-friendly, offering investors a chance to buy in to a diversified portfolio while retaining the ability to buy or sell at any time during the trading day. In contrast, mutual funds can only be traded once a day.

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