Vanguard has reached a major milestone in Europe after its ETF assets under management (AUM) hit €100bn for the first time.
The passive giant’s UCITS ETF range topped the mark earlier this week on the back of strong inflows this year, which has seen it amass €13.4bn in net new assets.
It means the group is now the fourth-largest ETF issuer in Europe by AUM, after overtaking UBS Asset Management earlier this year, with just 34 products.
Germany has been a key driver of growth for the firm and estimates there are roughly one million German individuals invested in Vanguard products.
A Vanguard spokesperson said: “In terms of where growth has come from, we have been particularly pleased by the flows from the German intermediary market.
“We believe that circa one million German individuals are now invested in Vanguard products – mainly ETFs – via German financial intermediaries and investment platforms.”
The German ETF market has been one of the fastest growing in Europe, driven by the rise of ETF saving plans among retail investors, helped by the growth in digital platforms.
It is an area Vanguard’s biggest rival BlackRock has bet big on in recent years through multiple partnerships and investments in online investment platforms.
The milestone comes 11 years after Vanguard entered European ETFs during which time the group has been focusing on organic growth.
Vanguard said it would continue to develop its range “in line with the needs and demands of our investors”.
It said the ETF wrapper is a key tool for investors that can help democratise investing in retrocession-driven markets.
“We see ETFs as a particularly important tool for investors in continental Europe,” the spokesperson said. “As publicly available investment products, which everyone pays the same to invest in, they can help to democratize investing, particularly in retrocession-driven markets.”
In a previous interview with ETF Stream, Robyn Laidlaw, head of European distribution at Vanguard, said: “Direct to retail or retail advised opportunity in Europe is significant because this is a group that has not really participated in ETFs to a significant degree thus far.
“European investors are not participating in the benefits of indexing at a retail level. A lot of that is to do with the delivery of financial advice in these markets.”
