4. AXA/BNP

A few things stand out in EasyETF's product range: the CAC 40 France country fund, a mainstay considering the funds' French sponsors (AXA IM and BNP Paribas);

the range of pan-European equity sector funds, based on the EURO STOXX indexes; the global property market ETFs based upon listed real estate companies in the EPRA indexes. With critical mass in all these areas, the firm has a solid foothold in the European ETF market. Recently, EasyETF has launched credit market funds based on the iTraxx indexes and so far has gained more assets than Deutsche Bank in this area (though it lacks DB's inverse versions).

5. Credit Suisse         

Almost half the assets run by Credit Suisse's XMTCH subsidiary are invested in the group's first ETF offering, the SMI index fund, which was launched in 2001. Five of the eight XMTCH ETFs are invested in Swiss markets, with the other three offering equity exposure (two on the MSCI EMU Index, one on MSCI emerging markets). While CS is probably unassailable on its home turf, it has little presence outside the Swiss market. Will it reinvigorate plans for Europe-wide ETF coverage?

6. Crédit Agricole    

Crédit Agricole's three ETFs cover the French CAC 40 Index and two Standard & Poor's European equity indexes (SPDR and SPDR 350). With no new product launches for some time, we presume that the bank is happy to rest on its domestic client base.

7. XACT Fonder      

Stockholm-based XACT occupies an interesting niche, complementing ETFs covering the Swedish market and the Nordic region with two funds offering exposure to the FTSE RAFI fundamental indexes (one in Sweden, one in Europe), plus 150% leveraged bull and bear ETFs on the Swedish large-cap index. A relatively small but well-positioned player, they have an intelligently chosen product range - one that is perhaps more diversified than those of some larger players.

8. ETF Securities      

A textbook case of explosive growth - ETF securities have capitalised on the ongoing commodities boom to multiply their assets severalfold in 2007. More recently, they have built out their product range by offering commodity ETFs based on 3-month forward indexes (to help investors manage contango/backwardation risk), and adding leveraged and inverse versions to offer investors scope to play commodity prices both ways. All these moves seem well thought out, and the company has positioned itself as the commodity tracker of choice. Will they branch out into new areas of the market, or stick with what they know best?

(Through the end of Q1, ETF Securities assets had more than doubled to over $5 billion, vaulting it from No. 8 to No. 5 on our list.)

9. State Street Global Advisors       

With the exception of the Dutch AEX country ETF, all the SSgA streetTRACKS ETFs are cross-European, mostly sector equity funds, where they face stiff competition from the other major players (although SSgA's funds focus on the MSCI indexes, while iShares, Lyxor and DB track the DJ STOXX 600 sectors). Given State Street's No. 2 position in the ETF market worldwide, their European ambitions have seemed modest to date - time for some new offerings?

10. UBS

All nine UBS ETFs have Swiss primary listings and focus on major market equity indexes from the Dow Jones range - plus a FTSE 100 fund. With just over $2 billion in assets, UBS is a relatively small player, and its product range does not stand out. While the funds will presumably retain a captive audience in the Swiss private banking market, some innovation is needed to capture a wider European client base.

*Source for this and other industry data - Morgan Stanley 2007 Year-End ETF Global Industry Review

Paul Amery is the European correspondent for IndexUniverse.com. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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