Eamonn O’Callaghan
Group Product Manager
The key benefits that ETFs deliver; liquidity, ease of access, cost and transparency consistently resonate with investors, both institutional and retail, that drove their decision to purchase the product. Below we summarise some of the key themes in the European market over the past year, which despite some macro headwinds has again proved to be very positive.
“With ETF assets currently hovering at 25% of mutual funds, and forecasts it can grow to 40%, this points to a promising 2026 and beyond”, Eamonn O’Callaghan, group product manager at CACEIS Ireland Limited
Growth
Following the same trend as previous years, ETF assets continue to grow rapidly. In 2025 inflows peaked at >$333bn, representing significant 36.7%YTD growth. September marked a new milestone with total ETP assets rising above the $3trn mark. Many commentators point to ETF assets doubling by 2030 with 2025 certainly viewed as a building block to reach that target.
New kids on the block
The influx of new asset managers entering the ETF space has continued with 25 new entrants over the past year. This was largely comprised of US managers looking beyond their borders to distribute product into Europe and domestic European managers stepping into the ETF space for the first time.
The flexibility and recognition of the UCITS wrapper is important in these decisions. UCITS products can be sold across Europe and there are also a number of markets outside of Europe where they can be distributed, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Chile and Mexico.
Ireland continues to be the domicile of choice now holding >75% of all European ETF assets ...
