Active ETFs are moving from novel to normal. Among ETF users surveyed by MSCI, 87% currently invest in active ETFs and 71% expect to increase their use over the next two years. Passive ETFs remain central to portfolios, with 62% of respondents also planning to increase their use.
The findings come from MSCI’s ETF Intelligence Report 2026, based on a survey of 450 advisers and investment decision-makers at financial firms in the U.S. and Europe. They show an ETF market with considerable scope for further growth, with active products becoming a more established part of the mix.
Further growth raises the stakes for managers seeking to capture those assets. The survey offers some clues about what could determine where those allocations land and where advisers see the most value in the ETF structure.
Mutual funds face more competition
The survey suggests that some future active ETF allocations could come from existing mutual fund or UCITS holdings:
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41% expect to decrease their use of mutual funds or UCITS over the next two years. Among U.S. respondents, that figure rises to 62%.
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58% say an allocation to an active ETF from an existing manager would most likely come from a mutual fund or UCITS holding, rising to 67% among U.S. respondents.
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50% would be likely to move to an active ETF version of a mutual fund or UCITS strategy they already hold if offered by the asset manager.
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Among advisers who currently hold an asset manager’s mutual fund or UCITS, 85% would consider switching to an ETF share class of the same strategy from that manager.
Differentiation commands a premium
As the market evolves, the findings suggest that advisers are looking beyond what is available today. Thematic and megatrend ETFs draw were among the most frequently desired area for new product offerings, selected by 47% of respondents. International equities are another area where advisers expect to increase allocations.
Forty-five percent expect to increase equity allocations outside their home markets over the next two years, compared with just 4% who expect to reduce them. Preferences differ by region, with U.S. respondents leaning more toward developed markets and European respondents more toward emerging markets.
Their willingness to pay also varies considerably by exposure. Only 12% of respondents would pay a higher fee for core beta, compared with 58% for an exposure that is difficult to access.
Access still has to be efficient. Liquidity and the ability to trade efficiently rank among the top priorities for 68% of respondents. What an ETF costs to trade can matter alongside what it costs to own.