Wealth Management
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.
The Nasdaq-100 Index has long rewarded investors with strong returns, delivering a 19.43% annualized gain over the past decade, outpacing the broader U.S. market’s 13.93% return, though with greater volatility. This volatility, often seen as a drawback, can actually benefit investors through direct indexing, a strategy that allows ownership of individual stocks within an index.
Unlike ETFs, direct indexing enables tax-loss harvesting, where investors sell underperforming stocks to offset capital gains and lower tax bills while maintaining market exposure. Wealthfront has pioneered this approach with its new Nasdaq-100 Direct portfolio, offering retail investors access to innovative companies and potential tax savings with a low 0.12% annual advisory fee.
Direct indexing can help investors turn volatility into an advantage by improving after-tax returns while closely tracking the index’s performance.
Finsum: Ultimately, the strategy offers a cost-effective, tax-efficient way to capture the long-term growth potential of the Nasdaq-100’s most dynamic companies.
As private investment strategies become more accessible and clients demand more integrated services, high-net-worth (HNW) investors are beginning to expect the same sophistication long reserved for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families.
This shift means advisors can no longer rely solely on investment management but must offer curated, multigenerational, and tax-efficient strategies tailored to each client’s full financial life. HNW clients increasingly seek private market opportunities, holistic advice, and solutions uncorrelated to public markets.
Experts emphasize that this evolution requires a cultural shift, where advisors act less as portfolio managers and more as strategic partners guiding family enterprises, estate planning, and intergenerational wealth transfer.
Finsum: As aging clients, complex assets, and family dynamics reshape expectations, advisory firms must broaden their expertise and redefine “value” around the totality of a client’s wealth.
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The democratization of private markets is accelerating as asset managers, regulators, and ETF innovators work to expand investor access to what was once an institutional-only domain. Once viewed as opaque, illiquid, and high-cost, private markets have grown from $4 trillion to $15 trillion in assets over the past decade, as investors seek diversification, income, and long-term growth beyond public markets.
ETFs are now at the forefront of this movement, with products like the SPDR SSGA Apollo IG Public & Private Credit ETF (PRIV) breaking new ground by offering direct exposure to private credit within a liquid wrapper. credit CLOs, each offering a distinct way to capture the returns of the private economy.
As demand grows, firms like VanEck note that private market managers are increasingly expanding into wealth management and retirement channels, further broadening investor participation.
Finsum: The push to make private assets more accessible marks one of the most disruptive and promising frontiers in modern investing.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points next week and again in December, according to a Reuters poll of economists, reflecting a shift toward additional easing amid economic uncertainty.
The move follows the Fed’s first rate cut since December, as policymakers prioritize stabilizing the labor market over curbing inflation that remains above target. Nearly all economists surveyed, 115 out of 117, anticipate the federal funds rate will drop to a range of 3.75%–4.00% on October 29, while 71% expect another quarter-point cut in December.
However, economists remain sharply divided on where rates will stand by the end of next year, with forecasts ranging between 2.25% and 4.00%, reflecting uncertainty over the economy’s trajectory and the pending succession of Chair Jerome Powell. Despite the uncertainty, markets have already fully priced in two more cuts
Finsum: The Fed faces a delicate balancing act as it weighs persistent inflation against signs of labor market softness, with some officials emphasizing job stability while others warn of reigniting price pressures.
Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) are rapidly reshaping the retirement landscape, becoming a major alternative to mutual funds across defined contribution plans due to their lower fees and growing accessibility. CITs now hold over $5 trillion in assets, representing nearly 30% of DC plan assets, up sharply from just over a decade ago.
Their rise is largely driven by cost efficiency, with fees that can be half those of comparable mutual funds, providing long-term savings potential for plan participants. Once limited to large retirement plans, CITs are now gaining traction among smaller plans, helped by lower investment minimums and broader recordkeeper availability.
Even so, ongoing legislative efforts,such as the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act, could expand CIT access further, reinforcing their growing role in retirement investing.
Finsum: These vehicles could be right for a variety of retirement plans for client.