Advisers Swap Active Funds for Smart Beta ETFs

Professional investors are selling out of actively managed funds in favour of strategic beta - also known as smart beta - ETFs which cost a fraction of the price

Dimitar Boyadzhiev 11 April, 2016 | 9:46AM
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Strategic-beta exchange traded funds, also known as “smart beta” ETFs, are set to capture a bigger share of European investors’ portfolios, according to the latest survey of European investment professionals carried out by EDHEC-Risk Institute.

Strategic-beta ETF fees average 0.39%, actively-managed funds charge between 1 and 2%

Within the group of 219 respondents, which include institutional investment and private wealth managers, one-third already substitute market cap-weighted and active investments with strategic-beta ETFs, while another third are considering following suit.

The study reports that investors are replacing active funds with slightly higher frequency than traditional market cap-weighted passive funds.

The France-based research institute links this result with the sub-par performance of active management.

A number of academic studies have found that active funds are not only unable to deliver returns high enough to compensate fees; Fama and French, 2010, but also that the number of skilful stock pickers is on a decrease; Barras, Scaillet and Wermers, 2010.

Another study finds that the aggregate underperformance is largely equal to the difference in fees between active and passive funds; Malkiel, 2013.

In Europe, the average fee for strategic-beta ETFs is 0.39%, whereas actively-managed funds charge in the range of between 1 and 2%, on average, according to Morningstar data. Fees in the strategic beta ETF space are expected to get cheaper still as the market matures and competition among fund providers intensifies.

Morningstar’s research group has extensively written on the subject of strategic beta and the threat it poses to active managers. In a previous article, the director of passive funds research in Europe attributed the growing success of strategic beta to the realisation by many investors that a portion of active funds’ return could be easily explained by market factors like value, size, or momentum. This would leave a smaller-than-thought portion of a portfolio return attributable to active management such as picking securities.

Other reasons cited by the EDHEC-Risk Institute report to explain investors’ increased appetite for strategic-beta products include their significant potential to outperform market cap-weighted products over the long term, their ability to efficiently capture factors, as well as their ability to reduce risk and alleviate stock and sector concentration often found in market–weighted products.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Dimitar Boyadzhiev  is a Passive Strategies Research Analyst for Morningstar

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