IFAs and wealth managers across Europe have indicated they intend to increase their exposure to thematic funds over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by ETF issuer HANetf.
Of the 60 wealth managers and IFAs surveyed – who collectively run over €136m (£118m, $143m) – some 73.3% currently have exposure to thematic funds within their portfolios, with 98.3% currently having at least a 5% weighting.
Going forward, some 90% of respondents said they plan to increase this exposure over the coming 12 months, while 95% said they have seen an increase in demand for thematic investing from their clients over the last 12 months.
According to HANetf, in 2019 European-listed thematic ETFs had under $10bn in assets under management. By April 2022, the figure has grown to $41bn, and those surveyed predicted this to expand by another $50bn by the end of the year.
“Financial professionals already have sizeable exposure to thematic funds,” said Hector McNeil, co-chief executive and co-founder of HANetf.
“However, they expect both their own exposure to thematic funds and the wider thematic ETF market in Europe to continue to grow.”
In terms of the most popular themes, the survey revealed a split on which financial professionals are most bullish on over the coming year.
“Among the most popular were blockchain, decentralised finale and the crypto economy, renewable and clean energy and the Metaverse,” said McNeil.
At 26.7%, the largest number of respondents picked out blockchain, decentralised finance and the crypto economy as the theme they were most positive about.
Clean and renewable energy also proved popular, taking 25% of the vote.
