Assets under management in ETFs (and ETPs) listed in Europe have surpassed $1 trillion as of the end of December 2019, according to data from ETF research firm ETFGI. Total AUM rose 4.6% during the month, from $982.1 billion to $1.027trn, driven by a combination of strong net inflows and healthy market performance. Fixed income ETFs attracted the lion’s share of flows in 2019 with $61.1bn, followed by equity ETFs with $51.7bn and commodity ETFs with $8.7bn.

More than €31.1 billion was executed on Tradeweb’s European ETF marketplace in November with the net buying of emerging markets ETFs being the standout trend of the month. Adriano Pace, Head of Equities (Europe) at Tradeweb, said, “The platform had its third-best month on record, just as European ETF assets under management are about to hit the €1 trillion milestone.”

BlackRock has rolled out a new bond ETF in Europe that is likely to appeal to investors seeking to allocate capital in line with socially responsible principles. Debuting on Euronext Amsterdam, the iShares $ Development Bank Bonds UCITS ETF (DDBB NA) offers access to a portfolio of bonds issued by development banks financing projects with positive social and economic outcomes in developing countries. It is linked to the FTSE World Broad Investment-Grade USD Multilateral Development Bank Bond Capped Index.

Ten new ETFs or ETF share classes were listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019, according to the exchange’s latest ETP monthly update, taking the total number of ETF listings on the exchange to 1,245, available through 1,794 different share classes. ETF providers issuing products during the month included Amundi, DWS, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Invesco, State Street Global Advisors, and UBS.

UBS Asset Management has launched a new fixed income ETF – the UBS ETF – JP Morgan Global Government ESG Liquid Bond UCITS ETF – providing exposure to global government bonds whilst taking into account environmental, social, and governance criteria. The fund, which becomes the first global sovereign bond ETF to incorporate ESG screening, combines the fixed income indexing capabilities of JP Morgan with the ESG expertise of Sustainalytics and RepRisk. The fund has debuted on SIX Swiss Exchange and Xetra with listings on Borsa Italiana and London Stock Exchange pending.

UBS Asset Management has announced that its UBS ETF (LU) MSCI World Socially Responsible UCITS ETF has surpassed €1 billion in assets under management. The fund, which becomes Europe’s first ESG-focussed ETF to reach the €1bn mark, debuted in 2011 and now stands at a healthy €1.16bn in assets. Andrew Walsh, Head of Passive & ETF Specialist Sales for UK & Ireland, UBS Asset Management, commented, “This milestone represents a further confirmation of our commitment to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of investors.”

Finding innovative sources of return that are structural and uncorrelated is a priority for around 85% of wealth managers and institutional investors, according to a survey from fixed income ETF provider Tabula Investment Management. According to the survey, 51% of professional investors expect to see the level of smart beta and innovation being used in the fixed income ETF sector increasing over the next three years, with only 2% expecting it to decrease. Michael John Lytle, CEO of Tabula, said, “Fixed income ETFs not only provide easy and cost-efficient access to standard bond indices, they can also deliver new and innovative investment opportunities.”

DWS has come to market with the first S&P 500 ESG ETF in the US. Listed on NYSE Arca, the Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (SNPE US) provides exposure to a portfolio of S&P 500 stocks that aims to track the performance of the S&P 500 closely while removing those companies with poor Environmental, Social and Governance profiles.

Alternative investments are playing an increasingly important role within investors’ portfolios, according to research by BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares brand of ETFs.

UBS Asset Management has announced the upcoming launch of the UBS ETF S&P 500 ESG UCITS ETF in Europe. Created in partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices and SAM (formerly RobecoSAM), the fund is the first ETF to track an ESG-screened version of the S&P 500. Clemens Reuter, Head of ETF & Passive Investment Specialists, UBS Asset Management, said, “We have pioneered a new generation of sustainability ETFs, offering a core ESG exposure based on the largest and most important equity index globally.”