A lot has been said and written about the growth of active and semi-active ETFs in the U.S. Even in Europe, where active/semi-active ETFs are still at the beginning, one sees news and media coverage around the emerging segment of active/semi-active ETFs every day. Conversely, there is literally no media coverage on the development of active/semi-active ETFs in Asia, Australia, or South America. This lack of information may lead to the question of whether active/semi-active ETFs are a global phenomenon? In other words, are active/semi-active ETFs are of interest to investors in other parts of the world?
An analysis of the assets under management of the 20 largest ETF domiciles globally shows that passive products (blue) are dominating the assets under management in all 20 ETF domiciles. That said, there are only two countries (India and Mexico) in which neither an active (black) or semi-active ETF (gray) are domiciled. Conversely, it is somewhat surprising that the combined market share of active and semi-active ETFs in the Republic of Korea (38.84%) is higher than in the U.S. (36.37%).
More generally, the chart below shows that the adoption of active/semi-active ETFs by investors has started but has reached different levels in the different ETF domiciles so far. This might be caused by regulatory specifications for ETFs in the different markets, the maturity of the respective market, the knowledge of investors about ETFs, or by the distribution efforts of the ETF promoters.
Chart 1: Market Share of Assets Under Management by ETF Domicile and Management Approach
Source: LSEG Lipper
By looking at these numbers it can be summarized that active/semi-active ETFs are a global phenomenon, since these products are available to and used by investors around the globe. Nevertheless, the chart also shows that active/semi-active ETFs are still not available to investors in all countries yet. This means there is a lot of additional growth potential for these products by simply rolling out these products in those markets, where these products are compliant with the local regulations.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.
The views expressed are the views of the author, not necessarily those of LSEG Lipper or LSEG.
