Would you believe it if we told you the fastest-growing exchange traded fund (ETF) provider in the world isn’t in the United States? You’d better, because it’s true.

db x-trackers already is the third-largest provider in Europe, with 14% of the market share, reports Steve Johnson for the Financial Times. The first Deutsche Bank ETF in Europe was launched in January 2007 and is now behind BGI and Lyxor.

In the first half of 2008, the provider increased its assets by $8.2 billion, making it the leader in the European ETF market. Since September 2007, db x-trackers has listed 53 ETFs on the London Stock Exchange. Globally, there are 87 ETFs with 240 listings across Europe.

Part of the growth in db x-trackers is attributed to the provider’s willingness to exploit neglected or lightly populated niches, such as shariah-compliant products and the overlooked London market. But they’ve also launched some mainstream products, too, based on the standard blue-chip indices.

Manooj Mistry is the head of the firm and credited with making it a leading player. He joined them in 2006. Mistry says that they’ve tried to separate themselves from the herd by keeping tracking error to a minimum.

Mistry is not done yet: they’ve got emerging market products, plus short and leveraged funds, in the pipeline.

Tags | Europe