EFAMA is pleased to launch the first edition of its new Industry Perspective research series, entitled “The rise of active ETFs in Europe – A short overview”. 

This publication gives a brief summary of the active ETF market in Europe, including its characteristics, growth over time, and comparison to the active ETF market in the US.

Key trends in active ETFs:

• Actively managed ETFs have seen significant growth in Europe in recent years, experiencing €16.3 billion of net inflows in 2024 and reaching total assets under management of €49 billion by the end of the year.
   
• Over the past five years, the UCITS active ETF market has increased by 385%, leading to net assets at the end of 2024 being nearly five times the value compared to 2019.
   
• The share of active UCITS ETFs within the total UCITS ETFs market is still low at 2.4% in 2024, however it is steadily increasing and nearly doubled from 1.3% seen at the end of 2019.
   
• The active UCITS ETF market still lags behind the active ETF market in the US, which represents 8.4% of the total US ETF market and reached net assets of €867 billion at the end of 2024.
   
• The higher share of active ETFs in the US can be partly attributed to the larger retail investor base and additional tax benefits available to US investors in these products. 
   

• Prospects are positive for the continued adoption of active ETFs in Europe due to strong institutional client demand for alpha-generating strategies, the rise of fee-based distribution models (e.g. through model portfolios), and increasing retail investor use of trading platforms.
   

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  For further information, please contact:
   

  Hayley McEwen
  Head of communications and member development