- More than half[1] are investing in ETFs through platforms, research shows
- HANetf offers the most extensive range of thematic ETFs in Europe and top performing themes include solar, clean energy, smart and distributed energy, uranium miners, and midstream energy.
January 2023, London
Retail ETF investors are increasingly using thematic funds, new research[2] by HANetf, Europe’s first independent white-label ETF and ETC platform, and leading provider of thematic ETFs, and crypto and commodity ETCs, shows.
The survey found that 42% of retail investors that use ETFs have money in ETFs tracking themes. Thematic investing provides investors with exposure to secular economic, political, or technological trends reshaping the world. Popular themes include clean energy, medical cannabis, the space economy and blockchain.
That was only slightly behind the percentage of ETF retail investors that use ETFs to access a broad market index (45%), such as the FTSE 100, the research shows. [3]
The research also showed that thematic ETFs were winning out against sector ETFs. The survey showed that investors were more likely to use thematic ETFs over sector ETFs. In total, 35% of respondents said they have money invested in sector ETFs. Sector-based ETFs are now seen by many as being unable to capture new and emerging global trends. In contrast, the thematic ETFs are able to select stocks across sector classification.
The research found around one in five (20%) are invested in metals focused exchange-traded commodities (ETC) such as gold.
ETF investors were asked about the ways they buy the products – more than half (53%) say they do so through the investment platform they use while 34% have done so through their wealth manager or financial adviser.
Recent launches at HANetf include thematic ETFs in partnership with Grayscale, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, and uranium experts Sprott Asset Management. The Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF (GFOF). GFOF provides exposure to companies at the intersection of finance, technology, and digital assets, that are expected to build the digital economy of the future while the Sprott Global Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (URNM) allows investors to access the growth of nuclear power, and its increasing role in the energy transition, through exposure to uranium miners.
Tom Bailey, Head of ETF Research at HANetf comments:
“ETFs are about unlocking investor access to new strategies or asset classes. The growth of thematic ETFs is part of this. Investors have long attempted to gain exposure to stocks set to benefit from megatrends reshaping our world. Thematic ETFs provide a simple an easily accessible solution to investors looking to investor in this way. We have pioneered the expansion of thematic funds and have Europe’s most extensive range of thematic ETFs.”
Please remember that the value of your investment may go down as well as up and past performance is no indication of future performance. When you trade ETFs, your capital is at risk.