Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has announced the launch of its first actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the EMEA region.
The two active ETFs are the Goldman Sachs USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond Active UCITS ETF (GIGU) and the Goldman Sachs EUR Investment Grade Corporate Bond Active UCITS ETF (GIGE).
GSAM said: “The strategies have the potential to achieve a long-term return by actively investing primarily in investment-grade fixed-income securities of corporate issuers.”
The ETFs will be managed by GSAM’s Fixed Income and Liquidity Solutions team.
In 2024, GSAM doubled its active ETF offering in the US, “reflecting the continued growth of demand and broadening of use cases for ETFs”.
The new ETFs are listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse, and will be registered in key markets across EMEA.
GSAM head of the EMEA third-party wealth business, Hilary Lopez, said: “We believe the active ETF market is poised for continued growth, particularly in fixed income. Recent trends demonstrate strong demand for active strategies, with active fixed income ETFs seeing remarkable inflows globally.
“These new ETFs reflect our dedication to helping investors access the full potential of the fixed-income market, with the added advantage of active management to optimise outcomes.”
GSAM global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions, Kay Haigh, added: “The fixed-income landscape in 2025 offers compelling prospects, with yields at decade-high levels and a favourable macroeconomic backdrop driven by easing monetary policies.
“However, varying issuer and sector fundamentals present opportunities for active management. These strategies will leverage our existing credit-investment capabilities to allow investors to capitalise on these opportunities while navigating risks.”
In July 2024, Franklin Templeton head of European fixed income, David Zahn, told Money Marketing that actively managed ETFs are a growing part of the market and fixed income is a “big part of that”.
Zahn added that the active ETF market is growing in both the US and Europe.
Also in July 2024, Morningstar Global ETF Flows report showed actively managed ETFs grew organically by 20% while passive ETFs only grew 3% for the first half of 2024.
In addition, it showed actively managed ETFs captured 25% of flows despite representing just 7% of ETF assets.
In total, actively managed assets grew to a record $889bn after starting the year with $714bn.
GSAM explained: “Active ETFs combine the benefits of actively managed strategies with the transparency, flexibility and potential cost benefits of an ETF wrapper. An active management approach can help investors capture market inefficiencies, navigate turbulence and mitigate company-specific risks through active credit selection.”
GSAM manages 49 ETF strategies globally, representing over $38.7bn in assets as of 31 December 2024.