Why active ETFs are suddenly the growth engine at big asset managers
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on September 24, 2026.
The growth engine at the big asset managers is a sliver of assets doing most of the work, which is why every legacy active shop is racing to convert mutual funds into ETFs.
Active ETFs at BlackRock, T. Rowe, Franklin, AB and Invesco make up 1-2% of their aum but generated 10-15% of firmwide 1H net flows = why legacy active tripping over themselves to launch and market ETFs. https://t.co/ziMG3BtCX3 [Quoted @neil_sipes4]: Active ETFs are moving from small AUM franchises to meaningful flow drivers for traditional asset managers, with plenty of runway. BlackRock, T. Rowe, Franklin, AB and Invesco generated 10-15% of firmwide 1H net flows from just 1-2% of AUM. Wealth and model adoption are leading https://t.co/BLHaWeIbC7
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Active ETFs represent just 1 to 2 percent of assets under management at BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, Franklin Templeton, AB, and Invesco, yet they accounted for 10 to 15 percent of firmwide net flows in the first half of the year. That kind of disproportionate punch is the core reason every major legacy active manager is accelerating ETF launches and marketing spend.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas flagged the data on September 24, amplifying a note from analyst Neil Sipes that framed active ETFs as having moved from minor AUM footnotes to meaningful flow drivers. Sipes also pointed to wealth channel adoption and model portfolio inclusion as the forces pulling that growth forward.
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The math here is straightforward: when a tiny share of your book generates a tenth or more of your new money, you reorganize around it. Mutual fund-to-ETF conversions, new active launches, and heavier distribution investment all follow directly from that logic.
The framing of "plenty of runway" matters too. If active ETFs are producing this kind of flow leverage while still sitting at 1 to 2 percent of AUM, the firms that move fastest on distribution and model adoption stand to capture a structurally larger slice of industry flows before the category matures.