Displaying items by tag: active etfs

Assets in European active ETFs have more than doubled in two years to reach €62.4 billion, though they still make up only 2.6% of Europe’s total ETF market—far behind the 10.2% share in the U.S., signaling early-stage adoption. Investor interest is rising, with €13.4 billion in inflows so far in 2025 following €18.4 billion in 2024, yet active ETFs still represent just 6% of total European ETF flows. 

JP Morgan continues to dominate with a 56% market share, followed by Fidelity and Pimco, while new players like HSBC, Avantis, and Goldman Sachs are intensifying competition and pushing fees lower. 

Equity offerings are mostly “shy-active”, benchmark-aware strategies seeking modest outperformance, while fixed-income active ETFs have quietly excelled, expanding into complex areas like CLOs and mortgage-backed securities with strong early results. 

Finsum: Overall, Europe’s active ETF market is maturing rapidly, blending innovation, cost competitiveness. 

As investors prepare for year-end taxes after a volatile 2025, many are exploring ways to reduce their tax burden through strategies like tax loss harvesting and structural portfolio adjustments. Active ETFs, according to T. Rowe Price’s Kevin Signorelli and Chris Murphy, can play a key role in minimizing tax impacts. 

ETFs inherently generate fewer taxable events than mutual funds due to their creation and redemption mechanism, which limits capital gains distributions. Active ETFs add further efficiency, often operating at lower costs while maintaining flexibility to manage holdings strategically. 

They also offer effective vehicles for tax loss harvesting, allowing investors to shift from underperforming funds into more promising active strategies, such as international or tech-focused ETFs. 

Finsum: As active ETFs continue to expand, they provide investors with more tools to optimize portfolios for both performance and tax efficiency.

The ETF market continues to expand as more firms convert mutual funds into ETFs, with a major asset manager completing the shift of its $1 billion unconstrained debt fund into the JPMorgan Flexible Debt ETF (JFLX). 

The fund charges 45 basis points and is designed to provide long-term total return through both current income and capital appreciation. JFLX has the flexibility to invest across a wide range of debt instruments, including bonds, loans, convertible securities, and money market holdings.

Its managers can actively adjust allocations across markets and sectors in response to changing conditions, positioning the fund as a versatile fixed income option. The move reflects rising investor interest in active, transparent ETF structures during periods of volatility. 

Finsum: With active ETFs adaptive strategies, these ETFs could serve as a core or complementary fixed income holding for investors.

The Fed’s latest 25 basis point rate cut was widely expected, but uncertainty lingers over how aggressive or conservative future policy will be. While the Fed currently projects only one cut in 2026, that could shift depending on economic data, leaving investors cautious on yield. 

This makes high yield municipal bonds an option worth considering, given their tax advantages and potential return relative to corporates. An active fund like the Invesco Rochester High Yield Municipal ETF (IROC) offers exposure with a 30-day SEC yield of 4.69% and a 12-month distribution rate of 4.43%. 

Active management is key in this space, as it allows portfolio managers to adapt holdings to evolving conditions and manage risk. 

Finsum: Taking an active approach when you can see the macro uncertainty start to creep up is a good strategy in fixed income. 

Small cap growth stocks have rallied sharply since April 8, with the Russell 2000 Growth Index up 34.2%, but large cap growth stocks still outpaced them with a 40.5% gain over the same period. Over the past decade, small growth stocks have significantly lagged large growth, delivering less than half the return. 

Research shows that active management has historically outperformed the Russell 2000 Growth Index, though recent rebounds have favored the passive benchmark as high-beta and unprofitable companies surged. 

Sector and industry standouts in small growth include materials, industrials, technology, and niche firms such as Credo Technology and Joby Aviation, with many of the highest returns concentrated in the most volatile stocks. Active small cap growth funds typically avoid the riskiest and least profitable names, which hurt short-term performance but aligns with evidence that profitable small caps outperform over time. 

Finsum: Active strategies may still offer investors a more resilient path within small growth equities despite the recent rally.