Active
ETFs
have
become
increasingly
popular
with
investors,
and
several
fund
houses
in
Europe
are
launching
new
products
to
capture
this
demand.
But
how
have
such
products
performed
in
the
first
half
of
2024?
The
active
ETF
universe
is
still
modest
in
Europe.
According
to
a
Morningstar
report
from
April,
these
funds
account
for
only
2%
of
the
total
ETF
assets
across
the
continent.
If
we
include
different
ETF
share
classes
across
multiple
currencies,
there
are
170
active
ETFs
available
to
European
investors.
Of
these,
10
have
been
launched
in
2024.
For
this
review,
we
are
looking
at
the
oldest
share
class
versions
where
multiple
ETFs
exist.
In
some
cases,
where
the
oldest
share
class
is
unavailable,
we
have
included
the
share
class
with
a
Morningstar
Medalist
Rating.
In
the
few
cases
where
neither
was
available,
we
have
selected
the
highest
performer
among
the
currencies.
It
is
also
important
to
note
that
the
chosen
currency
for
your
share
class
can
make
a
significant
difference.
For
example,
the
highest-performing
active
ETF
overall,
JPM
Japan
Research
Enhanced
Equity
ESG
ETF,
is
up
22.70%
in
Japanese
yen.
However,
the
oldest
share
class
of
the
same
product,
listed
in
US
dollars,
has
only
returned
5.81%.
The
top
10
performers
are
all
equity
strategies
investing
across
Japan,
Europe,
US,
emerging
markets
and
globally.
We
also
find
Europe,
emerging
markets
and
global
ETFs
at
the
bottom,
alongside
long/short
equity
and
bonds.
Only
24
active
exchange-traded
funds
had
negative
returns
over
the
period
and
six
of
these
were
in
the
double-digits.
In
contrast,
21
ETFs
saw
growth
higher
than
10%.
Beware
The
‘Shy-Active’
ETF
While
the
ETFs
highlighted
here
are
more
active
than
their
passive
counterparts,
the
recent
Morningstar
report
Active
ETFs
in
Europe:
Small,
Shy,
and
on
the
Rise
highlights
such
vehicles
might
be
less
active
than
you’d
expect.
“Most
of
the
active
ETFs
available
in
Europe
are
‘shy-active’,
with
lower
active
share
and/or
tracking
error
than
similar
active
open-end
funds,”
it
says.
“As
a
result,
investors
should
moderate
their
excess
returns
expectations
from
such
products.”
When
looking
at
the
20
largest
equity
active
ETFs
against
a
category-specific,
representative
ETF,
the
analyst
team
found
half
of
them
were
less
than
50%
active
(on
a
historical
average).
Which
Active
ETFs
Have
Performed
Best?
Among
the
best
active
ETFs
in
the
first
six
months
of
2024,
those
investing
in
US
and
global
equities
are
featured
the
most,
with
three
ETFs
each.
European
equities
feature
twice.
Fidelity
Sust
Rsh
Enh
Jpn
Eq
ETF
JPY
Acc
The
best
performer,
though,
was
Fidelity
Sustainable
Research
Enhanced
Japan
Equities
ETF
–
the
Yen
iteration.
This
Morningstar
Gold-rated
ETF
has
returned
21.28%
up
until
June
26,
2024.
It
is
also
the
third
cheapest
ETF
among
the
best
performers,
with
an
ongoing
charge
of
0.25%.
Lyxor
ETF
Wise
Quantitative
Strategy
With
a
19.12%
return
over
the
same
period,
the
second-best
performer
was
Lyxor
ETF
Wise
Quantitative
Strategy.
The
euro
ETF
has
a
Europe
large-cap
blend
focus
and
launched
in
2007.
It
is
the
oldest
active
ETF
in
our
dataset.
Its
charge
is
0.60%.
Invesco
Quantitative
Strategies
ESG
Global
Equity
Multi-Factor
ETF
EUR
PfH
Acc
The
third
ETF
in
the
list
is
Invesco
Quantitative
Strategies
ESG
Global
Equity
Multi-Factor
UCITS
ETF
–
one
of
the
three
global
equity
ETFs
in
the
list.
The
product
has
a
5%
exposure
to
Magnificent
Seven
stock
Nvidia
(NVDA)
and
has
returned
17.86%
since
the
start
of
January.
The
Invesco
ETF’s
ongoing
charge
is
0.30%.
Which
Active
ETFs
Have
Performed
The
Worst?
The
bottom
table
of
active
ETF
performance
shows
more
variation
than
the
top
performers.
There
are
no
repeated
categories,
and
most
asset
classes
are
represented –
from
equity
and
fixed
income
to
alternatives
and
property.
JPM
Equity
Long-Short
ETF
USD
Acc
The
worst-performing
active
ETF
so
far
this
year
has
been
JP
Morgan
Equity
Long-Short,
which
has
fallen
22.37%.
It
is
also
among
the
more
expensive
ETFs
in
the
list,
charging
0.68%.
It
was
launched
in
2017.
JPM
Managed
Futures
ETF
USD
Acc
The
second-worst
performer
was
an
alternatives
ETF
from
JP
Morgan,
launched
on
the
same
day
as
the
above
Equity
Long-Short
product.
JP
Morgan
Managed
Futures
is
a
product
that
invests
in
both
long
and
short
exposure
across
asset
classes,
and
so
far
this
year,
it
has
fallen
15.15%.
The
ongoing
charge
is
0.57%.
HSBC
Economic
Scale
Worldwide
Equity
ETF
Third
from
the
bottom
is
an
ETF
that
invests
in
global
large-cap
value
equities.
HSBC
Economic
Scale
Worldwide
Equity
was
down
13.38%
on
June
26
and
charges
0.25%.
It
launched
in
2014.
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