Crystal Clear ETF Investor Insights

Insights from professional ETF investors

This year again, our survey benefits from a strong representation of the global professional investment community. Our respondents select and buy ETFs on behalf of the world’s largest asset managers, financial advisors, private banks, family offices and institutions. Located in the three main time zones - with an increasing proportion of American respondent (40% this year vs 17% in 2021) - we count all types of institutions, from asset managers to pension funds, all of whom are very familiar with ETFs  with more than half having over 60% invested in the vehicle.

What do they buy?

Equities remain the most represented asset class in the ETF allocation of our professional investor base. Fixed income and commodities exposures follow, but at more moderate weights. The attraction of Fixed income exposure has possibly suffered from the current raging inflation environment but the rise of actively managed fixed income ETFs might help curb this trend.

Other asset classes such as Short and/or Leveraged, volatility and cryptocurrencies are also sparking the interest of our professional investor base.

Why ETFs?

The core attributes of low-cost, transparency, flexibility and diversification are convincing investors to switch up their existing portfolios and invest in ETFs.

Low management fees - with the aim of maximising long term returns - is the main driver for using ETFs instead of other investment vehicles, while ease of trading and diversification benefits complete the line up.

A focus on Fixed Income ETFs

Fixed Income is the second largest asset class in the ETF industry with a large majority of respondents (70%) stating they have invested in Fixed Income ETFs.

This year, however, there appears to be less intention from investors to increase their allocation to Fixed Income ETFs, perhaps disheartened by the current market environment.

Nevertheless, with investors still looking for a more comprehensive and transparent offering they see ETFs as a smart way to invest in less liquid Fixed Income securities.

Visit our Fixed Income Investing hub on trackinsight.com

The rise of Actively Managed ETFs

Actively managed ETFs look to be the next catalyst for ETF industry growth, combining the best of both worlds; a cheap, flexible and liquid wrapper while offering investors the promise of alpha.

A growing number of respondents state that they intend to increase the share of actively managed ETFs in their portfolios by at least 5%, with lower fees as the main motivation together with excess returns and diversification benefits.

Thematic ETFs

With 300 new launches, 2021 proved to be a dynamic year for Thematic ETFs, with funds in the category surpassing the $250 bn mark of total assets.

In the course of two years, Thematic ETFs have gone from being a satellite exposure to becoming an integral part of a professional investor's toolbox, with these strategies often considered for strategic long term bets, conviction based investments and easy diversification.

Visit our Thematic Investing hub on trackinsight.com

ESG ETFs

Sustainability is a growing matter of interest for the general public. The green label and sustainability mentions are everywhere and in everything we buy or use nowadays.

Despite this growing consciousness, sustainable investments is not the norm yet and remain a reality for only half of our respondents.

Challenges, interests and motivations for ESG are analysed in details in the report.

Visit our ESG Investing hub on trackinsight.com

Investing in Cryptocurrencies through ETFs

While relatively new in the ETF world, cryptocurrencies have swiftly been adopted by around half of investors surveyed, although they still tend to represent a small portion of their portfolios.

Multi-cryptocurrency ETFs, in particular, are proving popular with investors. Over half of respondents investing in cryptocurrencies use these funds as a simple way to gain diversified exposure to the most famous coins, while a third of those surveyed stated that they are looking to increase the share of cryptocurrencies in their asset mix.

And much more…

Find detailed results and further analysis of Trackinsight's Global ETF Survey 2022 by downloading the full report.

In the first section we go beyond the data and take an in-depth look at the big trends and topics impacting today's investment world through a series of educational articles.

We then explore the global ETF market by numbers, providing quarterly updated league tables, rankings and growth data for ETF issuers and index providers across each region.