ETF transactions made by French retail investors hit one million for the first time in the first quarter of 2024 as the wrapper continues to see double-digit growth in the region.
The number of French retail investors using ETFs has increased by over a third (36%) year-on-year to 216,000 from 166,000, according to the Authorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) Active Retail Investor dashboard.
The Q1 figure managed to outpace the previous quarter's 34% increase.
The number of people who bought ETFs swelled to 194,000, rising from 146,000 in Q4 2023. Among these, 53,000 were first-time ETF investors.
French retail uptake is projected to further accelerate as savings plans become more popular across Europe.
France – alongside Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain – is set to see the number of ETF saving plans quadruple over the next five years, according to research conducted by BlackRock and extraETF.
Elsewhere, a recent report revealed that ETFs are now included in half of all French life insurance contracts.
According to a report by Quantalys Harvest Group and BNP Paribas Asset Management the contracts containing at least one ETF grew by 6% in 2023 to 50%.
Additionally, the number of contracts containing 50 or more ETFs increased from 11% to 16%.
In February, the French government updated its finance code to allow active ETFs to list on the Euronext Paris for the first time.
