Exchange traded fund providers offer products linked to the major indices, but investors seem to want more. Specifically, a growing class of investors is looking for more specialized strategies based on newer indices.
According to a Edhec-Risk Institute 2011 European ETF survey of 174 institutional investment and private wealth managers, 39% of surveyed respondents want ETFs based on new indices, up from 29% last year, reports Chris Flood for the Financial Times. [How ETFs Have Evolved]
While 77% of respondents say ETFs should remain as traditional beta producing investments, 39% of those surveyed believe ETFs can expand into niche markets. [What is an ETF? — Part 3: Enhanced Indexing]
However, actively managed ETFs remain a low priority.
“Actively managed ETFs are not important to our respondents – only 11% think that ETFs should shift from passive to active,” according to the report.