Active ETFs Drive Growth as Investors Rethink Portfolio Strategy in 2026

Remy: Well the ETF industry shattered every record on the books last year. But as we kick off 2026, the momentum is evolving. The "set and forget it" passive models giving way to high octane active strategies. Last year, active ETFs accounted for a staggering 86% of new launches, and from the surge in derivative income plays as the fed cuts rates to the democratization of PE through liquid trackers, the wrapper is doing more work than ever before. Here to map out the 2026 opportunity set is Marissa Ansell, head of ETF investment strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Happy New Year. Great to have you here. Thank you so much for joining me.

Marissa: Thanks for having me. Happy New Year to you too.

Remy: Thank you. Well, 2025 was quite the year when it comes to ETFs. And here we are about a month into 2026. So do you expect more of the same when it comes to the overall trends.

Marissa: We do. So 2025, as you said Remy, was a record breaking year for ETFs. I think we broke records across assets, flows, volumes, new launches, all of the above. And we are definitely seeing that trend continue into 2026. I think one interesting thing that we've started to see emerge is the rise of active ETFs. And you know, when we think about activity ETFs, they currently represent about 11% of overall ETF industry assets. And yet they've been punching well above their weight. Last year, they captured 32% of new flows into ETFs and represented 86% of new launches, as you said. And that's a trend that we're seeing continue into January this year. And I think it really reflects investors wanting to combine the best of the benefits of active management with the benefits that the ETF wrapper can bring.

Remy: I think it's very important to step back and look at the data behind active ETFs, because at a time when we continue to see new record highs for the major U.S. stock averages, in particular the S&P 500. This whole discussion around active versus passive comes to play. So when it comes to passives is passive indexing becoming a secondary consideration?

Marissa: I don't think passive indexing has become a secondary consideration, but I think what we see when we look at the industry is that that's where it's started. And so the industry still is dominated by passive and it's also dominated by equities. And actually as we look forward, you know I think active ETFs will continue to grow in investor adoption. And really when we look under the hood we see a few key growth areas within active. Number one, I would say solutions based strategies such as derivative income ETFs, defined outcome ETFs, which were big gainers last year. And again we're seeing those trends continue. Number two, active fixed income ETFs. This is a space that's massively underpenetrated. And yet you know active management and the ETF wrapper bring great advantages to that asset class. And I think finally we'll continue to see innovation from ETF issuers around how to give investors exposure to private assets and private like assets within the ETF wrapper.

Remy: You highlighted a key point there. And as we come off the first Federal Reserve meeting of 2026. Of course, we did not get any change in terms of monetary policy for interest rates yesterday, but that is something that all of us are watching. So when it comes to the ETF space, you mentioned what you are watching heading into this year. But tell us a little bit more about some of the options strategies.

Marissa: Yeah. So I think you know it's a great point around the fed. The fed didn't cut yesterday but it has cut already a couple of times. We expect continued, a couple of cuts this year. And so I think investors are looking for income. And actually they're looking for creative sources of income. And so derivative income strategies that use options, the right call options, to generate income are a really great, great tool in investor toolkits because they do a couple of things. They generate consistent, attractive income for investors, but they also give lower volatility equity exposure. And so you know, the Goldman Sachs Premium income ETFs, GPIX and GPIQ, they've been hugely popular with our clients both last year and into this year because they do both of those things and they also have the benefit of an actively managed put writing strategy, which essentially means that we can vary our options usage as market conditions change. what that's historically resulted in is us having more of the portfolio exposed to market upside and our investors realizing really attractive total returns.

The other sort of area of options based ETFs are to find outcome ETFs. And those again, are another great tool because they give extra exposure but a predefined outcome And so in an environment where uncertainty is elevated there is potential volatility. And that's very useful to investors. And Goldman Sachs recently made an acquisition of Innovative Capital Management. They are really a pioneer in this space. And so we're really excited to come together this year to bring our clients a broad range of really best in class to find outcome ETFs.

Remy: And one area of the market, Marissa, that we're continuing to keep our eyes on is the bond market. So when it comes to the active fixed income frontier, tell us what you're watching and what we can expect heading into 2026.

Marissa: Yeah. So, when we think about the fragmentation, the scale, all the structural inefficiencies that the fixed income market, as I mentioned, it really lends itself to the benefits both of active management and of the ETF wrapper. And yet only 17% of ETF industry assets are in fixed income ETFs, and only 3% are in active fixed income ETFs. And so it's just a massively underpenetrated space with a huge sort of runway for growth. And one area within fixed income where we're finding a lot of opportunities. Right now it's in municipal bonds. You know I think yields are attractive, particularly when adjusted for the tax benefit. Credit fundamentals are solid. Credit spreads are reasonable too, attractive. And we do think that this year will be defined by a lot of supply. But we do think that security selection is key. And we think that, you know, investors should consider actively manage strategies in the space, such as the Goldman Sachs Municipal Income ETF, GMUB, which benefits from a ten person credit research team that are dedicated to finding those mispriced things within the municipal bond market and kind of, you know, capitalizing on those opportunities.

Remy: Marissa, while I have you here, I do want to ask you about private equity. So when we think about the average retail investor out there who wants exposure, we know there are high minimums. So what is your take on private equity? And tell us about GTPE.

Marissa: Great question. And you know when we speak to our clients, we do hear that most clients want to have exposure to private assets within their portfolios for the increased return potential for the diversification benefits. Yet there is still a gap in access, I think, to your point, because, you know, there are high minimums, there are high fees. There's a very long lockup period usually. And so not all investors are actually able to access private equity directly. We recently partnered with MSCI to launch GTPE, which is the Goldman Sachs MSCI World Private Equity Return Tracker ETF, and that seeks to deliver private equity-like returns with the transparency, the liquidity and the ease of trading of an ETF. And the way that we do that is we leverage MSCI's unique private company data set, and we bring that together with Goldman Sachs's deep experience in managing systematic liquidity strategies. And as a result, I think it's a real game changer for the industry. Why do I say that? Because when I think about investors who can and do use private equity, this is a really, really simple tool that they can use to get exposure and get to their target asset allocations while they wait for their capsule to be called. then for investors who can't access private equity.

To your point, this is, again, a great, really easy tool to get very similar return exposure. But again, with the, you know, the transparency and the lower fees and the ease of trading of an ETF. So I think that sort of takes accessibility, you know, to a whole new level.

Remy: Finally, before I let you go, I do want to ask you about the traditional 60/40 portfolio model. So how has that evolved and what are the implications?

Marissa: I think every investor is different and every investor approaches their asset allocation slightly differently. You know, one of the things that we're very focused on is, is giving our clients customized, personalized solutions, making sure that their portfolios are exactly right for their needs, their individual needs. I do think that 60/40 tends to be the base of most investor portfolios, that something like that at the core. But what we are seeing is investors using, you know, other strategies - more enhanced option related ETFs, maybe slightly more sophisticated strategies at sort of around that core to enhance their returns, to enhance their diversification and to meet other needs such as income.

Remy: Well, Marissa, always great having you on the show. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective. And thank you so much for all of your insights.

Marissa: Thank you so much for having me.

Remy: My pleasure.