THEAM, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, is looking to triple the assets under management (AUM) dedicated to its exchange-traded funds by 2020.

THEAM, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, currently has €4.2bn in assets dedicated to its ETF suite.

The rapid growth in the popularity of passive investments within the European asset management industry has seen European-listed ETFs grow to $511bn in AUM as of the end of July 2016. THEAM’s AUM in indexed funds totals €14.7bn, of which €4.2bn is in ETFs.

Denis Panel, CEO of THEAM, commented: “Our expertise in indexed management will be a strategic focus for THEAM’s growth in the coming years. Recent regulatory and technological changes have created an excellent environment in which to grow our ETFs and indexed funds. Our priority is to maintain close links with end-investors by using our financial engineering knowledge to offer simple and efficient solutions at competitive prices.”

According to THEAM, the firm will focus its marketing efforts on investors from France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, as it believes interest in its ETFs will primarily come from these markets.

Isabelle Bourcier, Head of ETF and Indexed Fund Activities at THEAM, said: “We intend to actively continue to expand our strategy in indexed management and to help us do this, we will draw on the knowledge of our various teams of experts who specialise in indexed management and are in direct contact with the markets and our customers. We also plan to recruit new talent to help us meet our targets.”

THEAM’s ETF suite, branded “BNP Paribas Easy” currently includes 50 ETFs focused on three categories: core portfolio ETFs, thematic ETFs, and smart beta ETFs. Additions to the suite in recent months include the introduction of 20 ETFs tracking smart beta and thematic indices.