Scientific Beta

IPE.com: "For the third year, our survey includes information on respondents’ use of products tracking smart beta indices. It appears from the results that investors continue to show high and ever increasing interest in smart beta ETFs."

IPE May 2016

"(...) EDHEC Risk Institute conducted its ninth survey of European investment professionals on the usage and perceptions of ETFs at the end of 2015 with the support of Amundi ETF, Indexing & Smart Beta. EDHEC-Risk Institute’s ETF surveys now provide a continuous assessment of practices and views amongst professional investors since 2006. (...) For the third year, our survey includes information on respondents’ use of products tracking smart beta indices. It appears from the results that investors continue to show high and ever increasing interest in smart beta ETFs. More than a third of respondents (37%) already use products tracking smart beta indices, compared to 25% in 2014, and another third (33%) do not currently invest in such products but are considering investing in them in the near future (figure 1). These results imply that we are likely to see strong growth in the usage of smart beta ETFs in the future. In addition, ETFs based on smart beta indices top respondents’ concerns with regard to developments in the future, with 38% of respondents desiring further developments. This broad use of ETFs based on smart beta indices, as well as the wish for additional development, may be explained by the favourable perception that respondents have of smart beta indices as tools for improving their investment process, as shown by their answers to further questions. (...)"