On April 11, 2000, the first two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on the EURO STOXX 50 and the STOXX Europe 50 were listed on Deutsche Börse in Germany. With this listing, Merrill Lynch International brought a product to Europe which had been established in the U.S. since 1993. In addition to Germany, the trading of ETFs also began in Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. over the course of the year 2000. Even as the first reactions to these new products were positive, no one at that time really expected the future success that ETFs would experience. The following is a

When exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were introduced in Europe in the year 2000 it was hard to predict that these products would write an unbroken success story for more than 20 years. This becomes especially true when one is taking into account that the last two decades saw so many so-called “black swan events” in the financial markets—like no other period before—and each of these events had the power to derail the ETF industry from their growth track. But ETF assets increased during rough market periods—times during which common sense would dictate that active managers would have an advantage over passive

What ETF facts do traditional fund managers need to know about the ETF market? On July 3, 2019, Refinitiv hosted the inaugural Refintiv ETF Academy at Canary Wharf. In this video, Nik Bienkowski, co-CEO and co-founder of HANetf, took to the stage to present on “ETFs in Europe – Launching, Competing and Winning – What Traditional Managers Need to Know.” Bienkowski highlighted that creating an ETF offering is high priority for most asset managers, but he also made clear that it is easier said than done. He also examined why asset managers can’t afford to miss the opportunity that ETFs

By looking at annual flow numbers and assets under management, it is clear that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are more than just a trend. Some market observers are already concerned, as they expect ETFs to take over the majority of assets under management for investment vehicles in the foreseeable future. Even as this might be too optimistic, it seems like ETFs have become a threat for active managers, as more investors are considering ETFs as their investment vehicle of choice. With regard to this, all fund promoters need a strategic view on their role in the competition between ETFs and traditional