Celebrating the entrepreneur

In this week’s interview, Stuart Forbes, head of ARK Invest Europe, celebrates the strong cultural alignment that he saw between Rize ETF, the firm that Forbes and his colleagues sold to ARK Invest in September 2023, and ARK Invest itself.

He talks about the entrepreneurial culture that lies behind both the businesses. "What set ARK Invest apart from other potential acquirers was that Cathie and her team are themselves a group of entrepreneurs and, having started ARK invest in 2014, they understand what it takes to build an asset management business from the ground up," he says.

ARK prides itself on its focus on disruptive innovation: let’s hear it for disruptive innovation and innovators, and let’s celebrate the entrepreneur – all things that we see in the ETF industry more than in other investment management sectors.

European ETF news this week from EFAMA saw the association confirm that 2024 was a very good year for ETFs. The association writes that net ETF sales soared to EUR261 billion in 2024, far surpassing the previous record of EUR169 billion in 2023, adding that ETFs are increasingly the preferred investment vehicle for investors seeking exposure to US and global stock markets.

Another nugget of information in the report, which will bring a smile to all of those involved in the European ETF industry, is that EFAMA reports that net sales of equity UCITS rebounded strongly in 2024, driven by record inflows into equity ETFs. "After muted net sales of just EUR5 billion in 2023, net sales surged to EUR141 billion, supported by the strong performance of global stock markets, particularly in the US. However, similar to the previous year, investors clearly preferred ETFs when investing in equity funds. Equity ETFs attracted a record EUR192 billion in net new money, while non-ETF equity funds experienced net outflows of EUR51 billion."

Beverly Chandler, Managing Editor

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