Insights
2025 Global ETF Outlook: Spotlight on Switzerland
As the No. 1 ETF servicer in the world* and an experienced partner supporting Swiss ETF issuers, State Street is predicting record ETF growth in Europe, and is focused on key market trends affecting our clients in Switzerland.
May 2025
Dr. Dagmar Kamber Borens
Country head, Switzerland and head of State Street Markets, Continental Europe
According to State Street’s recent report, 2025 Global ETF Outlook: The Expansion Accelerates, 2024 established a new highwater mark in Europe’s exchange-traded funds (ETF) market, with investment inflows reaching US$270 billion — close to 40 percent more than the previous record for the region. This growth saw ETF inflows across all asset classes (equity, fixed income, cryptocurrency) and strategies (active, ESG, leveraged/inverse, passive, smart beta).
Switzerland, with its sophisticated investors and well-established financial ecosystem, is one of the countries where ETF adoption is booming.
Although institutional investors have traditionally dominated the ETF market, retail investors are becoming an increasingly important driver of growth. This is also true in Switzerland, where retail investors can benefit from the ETF savings plans offered by many banks and other financial services providers.
Just under one million people invest in ETFs in Switzerland, representing 29 percent of the country’s adult investor population.1 This percentage is much higher than the European average (1 in 5), and second only to Germany.2
Looking ahead, Switzerland’s ETF market is expected to experience further growth in 2025, with 266,000 new ETF investors coming into the market — a rise of 28 percent.3 Switzerland’s pace of ETF product launches also continues to accelerate, with 57 new ETF listings in the last quarter of 2024.4
Switzerland’s mature regulatory framework, which is overseen by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), creates a transparent environment that supports the growth and stability of the ETF market. This framework supports robust investor protection and efficient trading, making Switzerland an attractive domicile and trading location for ETFs.
State Street’s 2025 Global ETF Outlook also explores the growth of active ETFs as one of the emerging trends shaping the European market. Inflows into active ETFs rose from US$7 billion to US$20 billion in 2024. At the same time, the number of active ETF products also increased significantly, from 103 to 178. It is striking that inflows into active ETFs were equal to 74 percent of the previous year’s total assets under management in Europe.5
The report predicts that this trend will persist, with more issuers and products entering the market, including standalone strategies and the expansion of unlisted funds launching a listed share class.
