ETF boom in Europe outpaces researchers and education

At Fund Forum in Monaco last month, portfolio strategists, heads of passive and innovation leads warned the rapid launch of active, thematic and leveraged exchange‑traded funds in Europe is outpacing the capacity of research teams and investor education.

Speakers described a surge in fund listings and investor interest that is creating a gap between product supply and the ability to evaluate new offerings. The comments focused on demand from wealth managers and retail investors for non‑traditional ETF exposures.

Andrea Acimovic, portfolio strategist at Elston Consulting, warned that “Innovation is moving faster than investor education,” and added many investors “often jump into ‘whatever’s hot’ even if they don’t understand it.” She also noted that the success of ETFs is increasing the number of launches and raising the workload for research teams.

Weixu Yan, managing director and head of passive at Trinity Bridge, reported rising queries from wealth managers about active and thematic ETFs and described research resources as insufficient to match the pace of new funds. He observed that the market contains “definitely too many” ETFs on the active side while also saying greater competition can deliver better outcomes for end investors.

Panel participants outlined several responses under discussion. Some called for hiring more analysts to assess strategy claims, fees, liquidity and holdings across the expanding universe of funds. Others urged clearer product labelling and more investor education to help retail clients understand fund objectives and risks.

Automation and artificial intelligence were recurring topics. Acimovic highlighted that while technology is part of the solution, investors continue to value human research: “People talk about roboadvisers and AI, but they still like research from a human and that’s not going anywhere.” Yorick Naeff, head of innovation at ABN AMRO, proposed that agentic AI systems could eventually help construct and manage ETF portfolios and said passive ETFs are likely to remain the low‑cost core with active ETFs serving as an adaptive layer.

Speakers also pointed to operational and regulatory effects. Firms that build portfolios, run advisory platforms or oversee compliance will need improved tools to process product data, compare funds and translate strategy details into clear recommendations.

Background to the discussion: ETF launches in Europe have increased in recent years and now include more active management, themed exposures such as climate and artificial intelligence, and leveraged products. The expansion has attracted inflows from retail and institutional investors and prompted more queries from wealth managers. Conference participants said further capacity in research and technology may be needed to support advisers and ensure investors can assess what they own.