El 98% de los inversores españoles invierte en ETF activos

A study conducted by Schroders reveals that an overwhelming 98% of Spanish investors consider exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with active management to be essential in their portfolios. The debate surrounding these investment vehicles has shifted from whether to use them, to how to maximize their potential. Spanish investors highlight several advantages of ETFs over traditional mutual funds, such as lower costs and higher liquidity.

Unlike traditional funds, active ETFs can be bought and sold continuously, providing intraday liquidity and the ability to trade at market prices. They also offer greater transparency and secondary market liquidity. However, Spanish investors note a disadvantage: the tax implications. Only 11% view taxation as a benefit, as ETFs are taxed like stocks, with a progressive tax rate starting at 19% for sales up to 6,000 euros and increasing to 30% for sales exceeding 300,000 euros.

ETFs have become crucial components of Spanish investors' strategies, serving as flexible building blocks to fulfill personal investment convictions, access different exposures, and complement main positions while maintaining high operational efficiency. Tom Stephens, Schroders' ETF leader, emphasizes the appeal of active ETFs lies in their simplicity and ease of integration, both strategically and tactically.

Strategically, they can serve as core equity exposure or fixed-income vehicles. Tactically, they can be used for tactical trading. In Spain, demand for active ETFs is not uniform across all investment areas. National investors particularly value these vehicles in thematic or sector-specific strategies, small and medium capitalization stocks, and emerging market equities.

These are areas where markets have less coverage, are less efficient, or present more structural complexity. This demonstrates that investors seek ETFs that combine the ease of trading with active management that delivers real results, especially when index exposure is less precise or when other vehicles are less operational. The primary obstacle cited as preventing wider adoption is the fund manager rather than the structure of the vehicle itself.