According to a report in the Financial Times, the firm is currently in the process of creating a team in preparation for the launch of its own ETFs, including the hiring of Nick King last year as head of ETFs. King joins from BlackRock.
According to a statement from the firm following the story, Fidelity said it had responded to the strong growth in ETFs by offering a range of the most popular products on its retail platform. But, it added: “We have now started building a team to support the launch of our own ETFs, based on client demand.”
Surging demand
Such a view of growing client demand is supported by Thomson Reuters Lipper’s latest European ETF Market Report.
Assets under management in the European exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry increased from €368.9bn to €449.3bn over the course of 2015, the firm said, largely driven by net sales, which contributed €71.2bn to the overall growth in AUM.
There is also a significant amount of concentration within the European ETF industry with only 19 of the 49 ETF promoters in Europe holding assets above €1bn, which bodes well for a player like Fidelity which has pockets deep enough to compete and a strong distribution.
“The largest ETF promoter in Europe—iShares (€214.1 bn)—accounted for 47.66% of the overall assets under management, far ahead of the number-two promoter—db x-trackers (€56.4 bn)—and the number-three promoter—Lyxor (€47.9 bn),” said Detlef Glow, Thomson Reuters Lipper’s head of EMEA research
