…You can learn a lot from watching the pros when it comes to building an investment plan and, while there’s no shortage of noise out there, it can be worth looking at what the “long-term money” is doing: the pension funds, portfolio managers, consultants and others who are collectively responsible for the financial futures of thousands of clients and millions of workers, retirees, individual investors.

Written by Martin Small

One unmistakable trend among institutions is the rapid growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These investors continue to discover innovative ways to use ETFs… [and,] like the rest of us, they are seeking outcomes such as growth, income, reducing risk, and liquidity, amid an uncertain geopolitical, market and economic landscape.

So what can we learn from the pros? One difference between retail and institutional investors is that the latter are taking a more expansive approach to ETFs. They’re embracing a wider universe of choices to meet a broader range of portfolio objectives.

Here are four trends you might want to consider:

1. Sophisticated investors are being “active with their passive”

Big institutional investors know that asset allocation—how you divide your portfolio across different stocks, bonds, and other investments—is the biggest determinant of success, and they’re capitalizing on the versatility of ETFs to help do just that, by building core positions, making tactical adjustments, diversifying internationally, seeking to manage risk and putting cash to work.

2. ETFs can help ease cost pressures

Price is front and center for large investors, many of whom have a fiduciary duty to act in their clients’ best interests. At the same time, uncertain market prospects mean paying close attention to cost to meet return targets is important. According to the survey, 7 in 10 institutional investors are replacing “low-conviction active” mutual funds—so-called index huggers—with low-cost ETFs.