The growth for exchange-traded products has only just begun, according to a new survey from SEI.

ETP assets, a combination of exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes, have grown over the past 10 years from $16 billion to $487 billion through October, according to the SEI survey.

And the survey of product sponsors shows that 90% are bullish on growth potential as the trigger for planning a slew of product launches. The survey found that nearly a third (28%) of respondents are planning on launching ETPs in the next 18 months.

The recent market downturn has hit ETPs, though it has been a larger case of market depreciation making a dent, as opposed to mass investor redemptions, as has been the case in the traditional fund world. However, the ETF industry assets are relatively flat versus last year, and ETNs, in particular, have suffered asset losses as a result of their unsecured credit nature, ever since the venerable lending firms on Wall Street began to teeter.

What's more, of the 114 new ETFs launched this year through the end of October, the average market capitalization was $25 million, according to Morgan Stanley.

That last data point from Morgan Stanley may tie into two important survey findings: 90% of the ETP sponsors polled said that having an effective distribution strategy is one of the most important factors in a successful ETP launch. And 50% of ETF sponsors said selecting the right market niche was the second-most important criteria in a successful launch. Read: no copycat ETPs.

Ability to differentiate products was cited by sponsors as the second biggest hurdle to entering the business, at 16%. It was eclipsed by legal and regulatory hurdles at 21%. Infrastructure requirements tied differentiation of product as the second-biggest hurdle, not surprisingly, since the economies of scale of huge ETP families like iShares and SPDRs drives profits in a product sector where management fees are often very low.

The survey showed a clear distinction between what kinds of products firms getting into the business plan to launch versus existing ETP sponsors. Approximately 80% of new ETP sponsors plan to launch equity-focused products, while that number was only 10% among firms that already sponsor ETPs. Big ETF families like iShares and SPDRs already have the equity market covered extensively, and recent launches have tilted to the fixed-income side (see story here).

Only 10% of those planning ETPs said they will launch commodity-based products, while commodities were a popular response from existing ETP sponsors. ProShares, the fifth-largest ETF sponsor in the U.S., just last week launched its first commodity funds (see story here).