By now, those who work with exchange-traded funds have heard the news. Vanguard is offering commission-free ETF trading. The Wall Street Journal, in its Fund Track column on Wednesday, talked to industry experts about the move.

Vanguard is third in line in terms of ETF assets. With $108.8 billion in ETF AUM, the Valley Forge asset manager trails only iShares and State Street Global Advisors. Vanguard has been leading the industry in terms of cash flow this year, with approximately $11.7 billion as of April 29, according to the WSJ.The company has 46 ETFs.

Scott Burns, director of ETF analysis at Morningstar, predicts that SSgA's SPDR family of ETFs will be the next group to cut trading commissions.

"This is just another sign of the cost pressures on the ETF space," Burns commented in the article. "Schwab has done something, Fidelity has done something, and Vanguard has now done something. The other parties are going to have to figure out how to respond to this."

The WSJ also spoke with Colin Kelton, principal of Vanguard's retail investor group, and Daniel Wiener, editor of the newsletter Independent Advisor for Vanguard Investors. 

Edited by: Daniel Tovrov


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