Last year was a rocky one for stock markets and new investment trusts but a record year for passive funds, with more exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 than in any previous year. ETFs are low-cost listed funds that aim to mimic a market benchmark instead of beating it. They have grown increasingly popular with investors as active managers have struggled to beat the market. Last year there were 323 exchange traded products (which includes exchange traded notes and commodities too) listed on the LSE, almost double the 177 listed in 2017. It was a year in which active funds experienced heavy outflows from retail investors amid choppy stock markets and several new investment companies failed to get off the ground. UK investors pulled almost £2.1bn from open-ended funds in November 2018