State Street Investment Management and Ninety One have announced a strategic partnership to launch a suite of co-branded active ETFs, with the first products set to focus on actively managed global equities and emerging markets UCITS ETFs.
The partnership will give investors across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific access to Ninety One’s active investment capabilities through the ETF wrapper. Ninety One will make available strategies across global equities, specialist fixed income and emerging markets, while State Street IM will provide its ETF platform, product structuring expertise and global distribution capabilities.
The move comes as demand for active ETFs continues to build in EMEA, with State Street citing 11.6% growth in assets under management across EMEA-domiciled active ETF products so far in 2026. The firm said growth has been particularly strong in global equity and emerging market equity funds.
Yie-Hsin Hung, chief executive officer of State Street Investment Management, said the partnership was an “exciting evolution” in State Street’s longstanding relationship with Ninety One and would create investment opportunities across emerging and developed markets.
Hendrik du Toit, founder and chief executive of Ninety One, said the partnership would combine Ninety One’s active investment capabilities with State Street IM’s global reach and ETF expertise, adding that uncertainty continues to create opportunities for active investors.
Ninety One is best known for its emerging markets heritage and was rebranded from Investec Asset Management in 2020. The partnership also extends State Street’s push into co-branded active ETFs, following recent tie-ups with firms including Blackstone and Van Lanschot Kempen.
Our view
David Batchelor, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “State Street brings the scale, infrastructure and distribution needed to compete in the ETF market, while Ninety One adds a recognised active management brand with particular strength in emerging markets. That combination is important because active ETFs are no longer just about repackaging existing strategies in a different structure – they are becoming a way for established active managers to reach investors who want daily liquidity, transparency and cost efficiency without giving up manager discretion. The focus on global equities and emerging markets is also notable at a time when many investors are looking beyond US market concentration and reassessing where active management can add value”.
