M&G Investments is set to launch further active equity ETFs in the coming weeks, further expanding its ETF exposure after a strong run in 2025, according to group CEO Joseph Pinto.
This launch will build on the firm’s existing active ETFs, including the M&G UK Index-linked Gilts, M&G UK Gilts, M&G US Treasury Bond active ETFs which launched at the tail-end of last year. The firm went on to launch the M&G Global Maxima Equity active ETF last week.
These were backed with an initial £350m investment from M&G’s Life business, which the team said provided the early scale and demonstrated alignment within the firm.
Pinto told Portfolio Adviser: “One of our core goals for 2026 is the enrichment of our active ETFs, with the launch of some new active equity ETFs in the coming weeks.”
The ETFs aim to broaden how clients can access M&G’s expertise as an active manager, particularly through platforms and digital channels, instead of replacing their existing range, the M&G team explained.
While Pinto was unable to clarify which markets these ETFs would focus on, he said they would be launched into investment strategies that the active managers “know well” but do not currently have an OEIC or mutual fund established in.
“This is because we don’t want to cannibalise our existing fund range, we want the active ETFs to be a complement to our existing branch,” Pinto said.
According to a spokesperson at M&G, the team is bolstering the active ETF range to reflect how investor preferences have evolved.
“Many clients already use ETFs and are familiar with the structure but are increasingly looking for active investment insight delivered in a more flexible and transparent format.”
Active ETFs combine the “best of both worlds”, giving investors access to an actively-managed fund as well as the liquidity and efficient trading of an ETF, according to M&G’s website. This can help provide exposure to niche sectors or asset classes that may not be represented in broader indices, the M&G team said.
Active ETF adoption has been a hot topic in recent months, with experts estimating US active ETF assets could rise to $6trn by 2035, while ETF investment could rise to €710bn in Europe.
See also: Knacke’s money maps: Active ETF avalanche
However, Pinto said the M&G team differentiates itself from other providers due to the quality of its active management.
“We deserve to be in the active management category, not everyone does,” Pinto said.
“Based on publicly available information, the equity net flows of Asian and European UCITS funds were around £48bn to £50bn in 2025,” he said.
The average flows into active funds were negative £21bn last year, whereas M&G’s net flows for their active equity strategies were up £3.4bn, the M&G CEO added.
“In a year where the active equity industry was very negative, we were extremely positive,” Pinto said.
“We don’t want to be put in that general camp of active managers losing money,” he said. “That’s probably true for many of them, but because of the quality of our products, we are in the winning camp.”
According to the firm’s recent results, roughly 75% of its mutual fund range was in the second quartile or higher of their respective sectors.
Increasingly, clients are understanding the differences between truly attractive asset managers and those that have failed to deliver, and assets are being allocated to these active managers or to passive strategies, he argued.
This builds on a strong year for the firm, which returned to growth in 2025 after a year of net outflows in 2024. Group assets under management and administration in 2025 had risen by nearly £30bn.
See also: M&G Group flows jump by £10bn as international interest soars
Other key ambitions for 2026 included a push into the Asian market and further strengthening the partnership with Dai-ichi Life, Japan’s third-largest life insurer. M&G became their preferred asset manager for Europe in 2025, and the partnership has already generated £0.4bn of net flows, but Pinto said it had much further to go.
“They are buying those M&G strategies and investing through their own balance sheets, both long and short.
“Secondly, they have selected a few strategies that they will promote to their own retail customers.”
On top of this, M&G is in discussion with Dai-ichi Life to co-create investment products to combine the two firms’ expertise and experience.
Pinto added: “Dai-ichi is strong in Asian and emerging assets and recently bought some US firms, while we’re very strong in Europe, so together we can pursue a global category.”
This, he noted, is still very early days, but will help the firms reach markets they could not access alone, which Pinto believed will help M&G compete with some of the bigger players in the industry.
In total, the Dai-ichi Life partnership is expected to generate £6bn in net flows over the next five years and further contribute to M&G’s teams’ international expansion.
See also: M&G mulls future expansion with boutique acquisitions
