Like a number of investment managers, Dimensional Fund Advisors, a large US-based active exchange-traded fund manager, has officially launched its first active European ETF.

Dimensional Fund Advisors has officially listed its first active European ETFs on the London Stock Exchange and Xetra in Frankfurt.

Initially filed in September, the Global Core Equity UCITS ETF and the Global Targeted Value UCITS ETF are listed in sterling and dollars in London, and euros in Frankfurt. They are registered in Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

Both funds – a core all cap fund and a small- and mid-cap value fund – will invest in developed markets, the firm said in a statement. They are managed using Dimensional’s investment approach, targeting a higher total return in broadly diversified, low-cost portfolios. The new funds, which complement Dimensional’s existing UCITS funds and separate account solutions in the region, are likely to be joined by other new ETF strategies next year.

An ETF is a basket of securities such as stocks and/or bonds that are held in a single fund that is bought or sold on an exchange. The market has surged in recent years as investors and advisors have sought lower-cost ways of obtaining market exposure.

“These first two European listings provide a new opportunity for investors to experience Dimensional investing, with its Nobel Prize-winning insights and decades of expertise working to outperform benchmarks and peers,” Nathan Lacaze, co-CEO, Dimensional Fund Advisors, said.

The active UCITS ETFs will be managed alongside the firm’s other fund types and client assets, with a team-based approach across Research, Portfolio Management and Capital Markets. They will not track an index; instead they aim to maximise long-term total return. The ongoing charges for the ETFs will be similar to those of comparable Dimensional funds at 0.26 per cent for Global Core Equity and 0.44 per cent for Global Targeted Value.

“Registration of Dimensional’s UCITS ETFs is important to a growing number of investors because they offer ease of access and compatibility with financial technology, without compromising our investment strategy. First, you choose Dimensional and the benefits we can provide, then you choose how to access the strategy,” Lukas Schneider, branch manager, Berlin, and vice president, said. 

“ETFs are growing in popularity around the world given their compatibility with financial technology and ease of access. And we have found that a growing number of financial professionals in Europe want the choice to use Dimensional ETFs in addition to existing UCITS funds and separate accounts,” John Romiza, co-CEO, Dimensional Fund Advisors, added.

Dimensional serves investors who access the firm’s funds through financial advisors, intermediaries, and institutions. The firm, which began offering low-cost systematic strategies to institutions in 1981, was an early supporter of industry shifts towards more investor-centric independent advice.

Dimensional is a global asset manager with $915 billion in firmwide assets under management. The firm has experience managing active ETFs in the US and Australia, with ETF assets now over $226 billion across more than 40 funds.

A number of firms have been launching ETFs recently, for instance US-headquartered investment managers Invesco and Franklin Templeton. See more here, here and here.

US-based State Street Investment Management published its 2025 EMEA Wealth Manager Survey last month, showing that ETFs remain dominant, with rising demand for both index and active strategies. In a time of macroeconomic uncertainty and industry change, the survey shows that 88 per cent of wealth managers expect to use ETFs more frequently in client portfolios. See here.