Advisers Keep Embracing ETFsNow They Want Even More
What 450 U.S. and European investment professionals want from ETFs and how they choose
A new phase is taking shape
ETFs have evolved well beyond their origins as an efficient, cost-effective way to access broad index exposures. Active strategies are gaining ground, adviser preferences are broadening and a wider range of exposures is coming into consideration. As the range of possibilities expands, so do the signals about where demand, differentiation and competition may head next.
The ETF Intelligence Report 2026 captures the views of 525 advisers and investment decision-makers across the U.S., Europe and Australia. The findings are presented in two market deep dives. This report focuses on 450 respondents across the U.S. and Europe, while Australia is covered separately. What emerges is a clearer picture of how ETF use is evolving and what is shaping the choices behind it.
The structural shift towards ETFs takes hold
Expected product use over the next two years
Advisers are looking abroad and toward emerging markets
Advisers on both sides of the Atlantic plan to increase international equity allocations, with emerging markets drawing greater attention. Knowing where advisers are looking for opportunities can be an early signal of where demand for new ETF products may follow.
Average equity allocation, home market vs. international
When two ETFs look alike, the index could break the tie
When ETFs offer similar exposures, the index could potentially tilt the decision. And as active ETFs grow, advisers are looking to the referenced benchmark for more than passive tracking, using it to help understand what an active strategy is designed to do.
Private markets are inPrivate-market ETFs are not. Yet.
87% of advisers surveyed already invest in private or less-liquid assets. But appetite for the assets and confidence in the ETF wrapper are two different things. What holds advisers back also points to what could broaden acceptance.
Liquidity runs through the ETF decision
Few considerations reach across the ETF decision quite like liquidity. It influences how advisers compare products, think about cost and consider a change in structure. That role becomes particularly visible as ETFs move into less-liquid parts of the market.
See where demand is heading Discover what’s driving ETF choice
ETF Intelligence Report 2026: Australia
The ETF story looks different in Australia. Explore how the product mix is evolving and where investment professionals see room for new exposures.
Market Concentration and the Global Index Opportunity Set
Megacap concentration is testing the balance between global size integrity and individual-market coverage. See what happens when established index-construction rules are flexed across developed and emerging markets.
MSCI Market Cap Indexes
MSCI Market Cap Indexes include large-, mid- and small-cap indexes designed to represent and measure global equity markets as they evolve.