VanEck, the U.S. asset manager, has launched TruSector exchange-traded funds which are contributing to the growth of actively managed ETFs as they have reached record inflows and assets under management this year.

The TruSector ETFs in the consumer discretionary and technology sectors were launched on 21 august 2025. They are designed to give investors full market-cap sector exposure, providing closer alignment with how the market itself defines each sector.

The Registered Investment Company (RIC) diversification rules force sector funds to underweight the largest companies in their benchmarks and RIC rules limit how much an ETF can invest in any single company VanEck gave the examples of funds not being able to hold more than 25% in a single stock, and stocks with a 5% weighting or more not being able to make up more than 50% of the portfolio. Therefore weightings can be distorted in sectors dominated by a few large names, such as technology which is dominated by the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks –  Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla.

TruSector ETFs provide asset allocators and model portfolio managers with precision tools for tracking sector benchmarks by providing full sector exposure while staying within regulatory limits. The funds have been launched in two sectors with the biggest issues, but Michael Cohick, director of product management at VanEck, told Markets Media but the asset manager is looking at other sectors.

Cohick said the fund manager designed the TruSector ETFs in a couple of weeks in response to a request from a client who was looking for a solution in the marketplace that did not exist. He said: “We love it when an idea comes to us from one of our clients as we can brainstorm together on solutions.”

VanEck first tried to see if it could meet the client request with a passive benchmark, working with its index provider subsidiary, MarketVector Indexes.

“We figured out the best way for us to really hone these exposures while still remaining within the regulatory limits and the IRS limits of diversification was to go active,” added Cohick.

Active ETF flows

ETFGI, an independent research and consultant on global ETF industry trends, reported that assets invested in actively managed ETFs reached a record $1.5 trillion in the first half of this year. Net inflows during that time period were an all-time high of $267bn, surpassing the previous record of $153bn in the first six months of 2024.

Assets invested in the actively managed ETFs industry globally reached a new record of US$1.48 Tn at the end of June, @ETFGI https://t.co/oqTpmirwxx#Register https://t.co/8ZcdMRyGqB for our 6th @ETFGI Global #ETFs Insights Summit – United States on Nov 5 in New York @YaleClubNYC pic.twitter.com/rXXSJX04Rt

— ETFGI (@etfgi) July 22, 2025

Rich Lee, head of program trading and execution strategy at Baird, described the “massive proliferation” of active ETFs as the third wave of the product and he also expects this growth to continue.

Lee told Markets Media: “Active ETFs come to market are a phenomenal channel for active managers to get exposure to investors who want live intraday pricing.”

In addition, there are tax efficiencies and continued growth in exchange-traded products, including passive funds. Cohick highlighted that legacy mutual funds are being converted into ETFs and that a big part of active issuance is due to market volatility and economic uncertainty. He expects active to continue to grow if these market conditions persist.

He said: “I think investors are feeling a little bit safer with the active management component. I don’t see anything holding growth back and I know our pipeline is keeping us busy.”

The majority of VanEck’s ETFs are passive but Cohick said active products are likely to grow. He added: “If we see an opportunity where there is a blank space and an active management approach would make a lot of sense, I think we would pursue it.”

For example, VanEck has launched two actively managed collateralized loan obligation (CLO) ETFs. In June this year VanEck marked the three-year anniversary of the VanEck CLO ETF (CLOI), which has more than $1bn in assets under management, and is actively managed by PineBridge Investments.

William Sokol, director of product management at VanEck, said in a statement: “ETFs have opened the CLO market to all types of investors. As awareness of the asset class continues to grow, we believe CLOI’s broad investment grade strategy and risk-managed approach will continue to stand out as a way for income investors to build stronger core bond portfolios, driven by compelling yields, diversification benefits and robust credit protections.”

Cohick continued that VanEck is closely watching for the ruling from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission on the ETF share class, which would allow a share class of an existing mutual fund to trade as an ETF.

State Street’s 2025 Global ETF Megatrends Midyear Review said 70 managers have filed to launch an actively managed ETF share class which is an efficient way of adding new investors. The portfolio management team only needs to manage one pool of assets with different share classes, while managing an active mutual fund and launching an active ETF for that strategy involves two different pools of assets.

New asset classes

Just as SEC approval of ETF share classes is expected to boost the product, the favorable attitude of the regulator towards digital assets under the new administration is also expected to be positive for ETFs.

VanEck has issued digital asset ETFs in the U.S and Europe. On 27 August 2025 the firm said the VanEck Crypto and Blockchain Innovators UCITS ETF in Europe had reached a fund volume of $500n. The ETF invests in companies that are active in the global ecosystem for digital assets, including trading platforms for digital assets and operators of blockchain infrastructure and cryptocurrency mining.

This passively managed fund replicates MarketVector’s MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index, which contains companies from the digital asset ecosystem who generate at least 50% of their revenue from digital asset projects or have the potential to achieve this in the future. The ETF does not invest either directly or indirectly via derivatives, in cryptocurrencies or digital assets themselves.

State Street predicted in its report that spot crypto ETF products will expand to cover the top 10 coins based on market cap, crypto ETFs will expand to multi-coin products and that digital asset ETF assets will become larger than precious metal assets by the end of this year.

Cohick continued that the private markets space is very interesting. Although VanEck runs private market strategies, they are not yet in an ETF wrapper. In June this year  VanEck launched the VanEck Alternative Asset Management ETF (GPZ), which was the first ETF to track the MarketVector Alternative Asset Managers Index. The index is designed to capture the performance of U.S.-listed companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue from alternative investment strategies, including private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds.

Brandon Rakszawski, director of product management at VanEck, said in a blog that as traditional banks have reduced their exposure to private and middle-market lending, alternative asset managers have stepped in.

“Private credit has delivered compelling yields and experienced strong growth, making it a standout segment in the private investment landscape,” he added .”But this growth isn’t isolated to private credit. Equity, real estate, and infrastructure have all experienced growth in the private markets.”

He said that historically, many top alternative asset managers were structured as partnerships, which posed tax challenges for ETFs, but many have converted to corporations.

“Investors seeking to capitalize on the growth of the alternative asset management industry itself, rather than just its underlying investments, have had limited options,” Rakszawski said. “While it’s possible to buy stock in individual firms, there hasn’t been a diversified, pure-play ETF that focuses solely on leading alternative asset managers—until now.”