Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen phenomenal growth over the past decade, from what was primarily perceived as a US institutional investor's product to a popular, low-cost choice for retail investors the world over.

Product range, too, has grown, with exchange-traded products based on commodities, smart-beta strategies and sector-specific indices created especially for exchange-traded products to track.

This guide will explore why the market has taken off, the differences between index funds, exchange-traded funds and smart beta, how ETFs can be used in portfolio construction and what sort of developments are on the horizon.

Contributors include: James McManus, investment manager for Nutmeg; Joe Parkin, head of UK wealth and retail sales for iShares; Bryon Lake, head of Invesco Powershares; Pollyanna Mills, head of UK intermediary sales at iShares; Luis Rivera, chief executive of ETFMatic; Mark Fitzgerald, product manager at Vanguard; and Daniel Greenhough, investment manager for Lumin Wealth.

laura.miller@ft.com