The birthday of European ETFs: From zero to a trillion dollar industry in 20 years

Two decades of growth

Over the past two decades, the European ETF market has seen exponential growth in terms of assets, number, and diversity of products.

In 2000 the market was in its "start-up" stage, offering just a handful of equity funds tracking well-known stock exchange indices, such as the UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX. Twenty years later, assets invested in passive funds in Europe are shy of one-fifth of the total market, and ETFs account for half of it. Moreover, the menu has expanded to the point that investors can easily build diversified portfolios solely using ETFs. There has been a relentless push from ETF providers to fill in gaps, not just in equity but also in fixed income, commodities, and alternative assets such...