Northern Trust Asset Management is reportedly preparing to re-enter Europe’s ETF market, marking a notable return for a group that only recently pulled back from the sector. According to recent reports, the firm is reassessing its European ETF strategy and is weighing whether to convert existing active funds into ETFs as it looks to tap renewed demand for actively managed products in the region.
Northern Trust is not a first-time entrant to the market. The firm launched its initial European ETF range in 2021 under its FlexShares brand, starting with climate-focused smart beta products before expanding the line-up. However, the business struggled to gain scale and by late 2023 four of its five European ETFs had closed, leaving only the FlexShares Listed Private Equity UCITS ETF in the market.
Northern Trust then restructured its remaining European ETF presence in 2024, transferring its Irish ETF platform to Waystone while continuing as investment manager on the surviving fund. At the time, the arrangement was not presented as a full exit, but it did leave the group with a much smaller footprint. That background makes the latest report notable, as it points to a second attempt to build a European ETF presence, this time with a sharper eye on where active strategies may have a better chance of standing out.
Northern Trust has also rebranded its FlexShares ETFs as Northern Trust ETFs as of March 2026, giving the group a more unified identity as it considers how to position itself for a renewed push in the market.
Our view
David Batchelor, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “There is clear significance in a firm re-entering a market it previously stepped back from. Northern Trust is already a sizeable ETF player in the US, so its reported return adds to the sense that Europe’s ETF market is becoming increasingly difficult for larger international managers to ignore”.
