Evolution of European ETFs

Abstract

The authors expect the year 2012 to be a positive one for the European exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry. The global economy still faces strong headwinds and a solution to the Eurozone crisis remains elusive, so such macro tools as ETFs should continue to hold their position as a wrapper of choice for different risk–return profiles. On January 30, 2012, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) clarified its position on ETFs, which should allay investor concern over regulatory risks that were prevalent in the market in 2011.Ultimately, the authors expect a return to the fundamentals of indexing and the industry and regulators to take further action in clarifying the risks of different types of exchange-traded instruments.