New York – September 16, 2026 -- Active ETFs have moved into the mainstream of adviser portfolios, with 71% of surveyed advisers planning to increase their use over the next two years, according to MSCI Inc.'s (NYSE: MSCI) ETF Intelligence Survey 2026, which polled 450 advisers across the U.S. and Europe.
Already, 87% of respondents hold active ETFs, and the shift is displacing incumbent fund structures rather than simply adding new options. Fifty-eight percent of advisers say a new active ETF allocation from a manager they already use would most likely replace an existing mutual fund or UCITS holding.
Mutual fund managers face structural displacement as advisers pivot to ETF wrappers
Half of respondents said they would likely switch to an active ETF version of a strategy they already hold, and 85% of those involved in fund selection are open to an ETF share class of the same underlying strategy. The pattern indicates managers face pressure to offer ETF versions of existing strategies rather than losing assets outright.
Thematic and emerging-market exposures top adviser demand for new ETF launches
Thematic and megatrend ETFs drew the strongest demand for future product development, cited by 47% of respondents. Separately, 45% of advisers expect to broaden equity allocations beyond their home markets over the next two years, with 39% of that group anticipating greater focus on emerging markets versus 24% favoring developed markets.
Advisers will pay premiums for hard-to-access strategies but resist fees on core beta
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they would pay more for a difficult-to-access strategy, while only 12% would pay a higher fee for core beta exposure. Liquidity and trading efficiency ranked as a top priority for 68% of advisers, indicating that total cost of ownership now factors as heavily as headline fees in product selection.
Private markets remain a poor fit for the ETF structure despite adviser interest
While 49% of advisers are open to accessing private or less liquid assets through an ETF, only 16% consider private markets a good structural fit. Sixty-two percent cited a mismatch between ETF liquidity and underlying asset liquidity as the primary concern, ahead of valuation transparency (50%) and lack of track record (44%).
"Passive ETFs remain the foundation of most adviser portfolios, but active ETFs are increasingly becoming mainstream," said Jana Haines, Global Head of Index at MSCI. "What we are seeing is a shift from whether advisers will use active ETFs to where the structure delivers the most value."
Passive ETF adoption is also expanding, with 62% of advisers planning to increase allocations to passive products over the same period.