The Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market in the United States is far more developed than in Europe, reflecting differences in market maturity, regulatory frameworks, and investor adoption. To help close this gap, Schroders has launched two active ETFs in Europe: a global equity active ETF and a global investment-grade corporate bond active ETF. These launches aim to bring actively managed strategies to European investors within the efficient UCITS ETF structure.

“Schroders is bringing more than 220 years of active investment expertise into European active ETFs for the first time,” says Johanna Kyrklund, Group Chief Investment Officer at Schroders. “We are building on the decade of experience we already have, offering active ETFs by bringing two of our world-class equities and fixed income strategies to a broader audience, through European-domiciled ETF wrappers.”

“Schroders is bringing more than 220 years of active investment expertise into European active ETFs for the first time.”

Johanna Kyrklund, Group Chief Investment Officer at Schroders.

ETFs primarily serve as a delivery mechanism, allowing investors to efficiently access a wide range of asset classes and underlying investment strategies. While often associated with passive investing, ETFs can also accommodate active management, giving portfolio managers the flexibility to make informed decisions on security selection, risk management, and market timing within the fund. The ETF structure provides the benefits of liquidity, transparency, and ease of trading, while enabling managers to implement their investment philosophy and seek outperformance relative to a benchmark. In this way, ETFs act as a bridge, combining the operational efficiency of a traded vehicle with the potential for active, research-driven investment strategies.

“In today’s dynamic market environment, access to market-leading active management expertise is crucial,” adds Kyrklund. “These launches will ensure our clients can benefit from the flexibility and accessibility of an ETF wrapper, as well as the potential superior returns delivered by our active investing edge.”

“These launches will ensure our clients can benefit from the flexibility and accessibility of an ETF wrapper, as well as the potential superior returns delivered by our active investing edge.”

Johanna Kyrklund, Group Chief Investment Officer at Schroders.

ETFs offer several important advantages for investors. They provide easy access to underlying strategies, lower minimum investment thresholds, liquidity, and cost efficiencies compared with traditional fund structures. While the ETF format does impose some constraints on portfolio management, it still allows active managers to implement their investment philosophy and seek outperformance. To meet growing demand for ETFs, Schroders has launched two active ETF products, giving clients access to actively managed strategies within an efficient and accessible ETF wrapper.

Schroder ETFs ICAV – Schroder Global Equity Active UCITS ETF will broaden access to Schroders’ $24 billion QEP Global Core strategy, an actively managed strategy covering a global universe of approximately 15,000 stocks and backed by a 25-year track record. Managed by Lukas Kamblevicius, Co-Head of Schroders’ Quantitative Equity Products (QEP) Investment Team, the strategy aims to deliver consistent outperformance across a range of market environments while maintaining lower relative risk compared with its MSCI World benchmark. Since its inception, it has outperformed in 20 of 25 calendar years, generating an annualized relative return of 1.0 percent (gross of fees).

Schroder ETFs ICAV – Schroder Global Investment Grade Corporate Bond Active UCITS ETF will expand access to an existing $3 billion investment strategy, previously available only through segregated mandates. The strategy combines fundamental research with systematic tools to enhance returns, focusing exclusively on global investment-grade bonds and avoiding high-yield securities and other off-benchmark exposures. The ETF is designed to maintain low tracking error and limited benchmark-relative risk, aiming to deliver income and capital growth in excess of the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporate Index (hedged to USD). The team’s bottom-up process has a six-year track record, achieving annualized relative returns of 1.4 percent.

The European ETF market has historically lagged behind the more developed U.S. ETF universe. Schroders, for example, launched its first active ETFs in Australia in 2016, followed by its first U.S. active ETF in partnership with Hartford Funds in 2018. It was not until 2025 that Schroders introduced its first active ETFs in Europe. Schroder ETFs ICAV – Schroder Global Equity Active UCITS ETF will list on XETRA Deutsche Börse on 26 September, and will soon be joined by Schroder ETFs ICAV – Schroder Global Investment Grade Corporate Bond Active UCITS ETF. These listings will subsequently expand to the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, and SIX Swiss Exchange.

“Our European active ETF launches will enable us to reach more investors and further reinforce our commitment to moving at pace and offering the variety of investment tools and differentiated returns our clients increasingly expect.”

Meagen Burnett, Chief Financial Officer, Schroders.

“This key milestone demonstrates our ability to harness the scale of Schroders’ investment and operating platforms to enhance the distribution access points for existing and new clients. This allows us to offer our active investment edge in a new wrapper,” says Meagen Burnett, Chief Financial Officer, Schroders. “Our European active ETF launches will enable us to reach more investors and further reinforce our commitment to moving at pace and offering the variety of investment tools and differentiated returns our clients increasingly expect.”