The development and future of European active exchange-traded funds

Until today, exchange-traded funds have been the most innovative tradable vehicle on the market. They have experienced a surprising growth and their popularity has been continuing to increase during the last decades. In order to respond to investors’ requirements and to market trends, the industry of ETFs diversified into new types of ETFs and that is why actively managed exchange-traded funds make their apparition. However, the potential development of actively managed ETFs and their future in the ETF European industry remain uncertain. The aim of the thesis is to shed light on crucial points in order to clarify the potential issues concerning the future of active ETFs in Europe. We will go through the most applied guidelines which are the MIFID II, PRIIPS and UCITS directives. This will give an overview of the European requirements and show if they turn out to be in line with the good development of actively managed ETFs. It is clear that transparency raises many questions and concerns among both investors and asset managers in Europe. Regulators must make decisions in order to fulfill everyone’s expectations. In Europe, the future of active ETFs is thus uncertain and in the hands of the market regulators.