Active ETF assets under management (AUM) globally are projected to quadruple to $4trn by 2030, according to a report by BlackRock.
The report, titled Decoding Active ETFs: How the growth of active ETFs is unlocking innovation and opportunity for investors, said the growth means active ETFs would account for 16% of the global ETF industry by 2030.
Much of the growth would be driven by the US however, with active ETFs in Europe accounting for 2% of ETF AUM with roughly $40bn in assets.
This however is up 25% year to date. Active ETFs recorded inflows of $6.8bn in the first half of 2024, according to Morningstar data.
BlackRock tied the growth in Europe to the increase of fee-based advisory and model portfolios and the rise of self-directed investors through online brokerage platforms alongside regulatory.
The projected growth is supported by the marked uptick in ETF launches in recent years, rising from 25% of global ETF launches in 2021 to 41% in the first half of 2024.
Active ETFs accounted for 43% of global ETF launches in 2023.
In Europe, assets in active UCITS ETFs have increased five-fold since the start of 2015, from $6.1bn to $32.9bn by the end of 2023, according to data from ETFbook.
The European active ETF growth story is yet to play out but is expected to be one of the key growth drivers over the next few years, with US players lining up to enter the European market.
The European ETF market hit $2trn in June and is set to reach $4.5trn by 2030, according to EY research.
