Belgium was long known as a late adopter of ETFs. But over the past three years, adoption has clearly accelerated, at 13 percent per year. This has brought the market closer to the European average.
This became clear on Tuesday morning during a roundtable hosted by Blackrock. The idea that Belgium is structurally lagging behind is becoming less and less accurate, said Gisèle Dueñas Leiva, responsible for wealth distribution in Belgium and Luxembourg.
“ETFs were initially seen in Europe as a niche instrument, mainly technical in nature and intended for a limited group of investors,” said Jérôme Folcque, director wealth distribution Belgium & Luxembourg at Blackrock. “Today they have grown into a central building block in portfolios, both for institutional and individual investors.”
That also applies to Belgium. According to a recent Blackrock study, Belgium today has around 800,000 ETF investors, an increase of more than 250,000 since 2022. This translates into annual growth of just over 13 percent since 2023. Today, nine percent of adult Belgians invest in ETFs. That is more than in France (four percent) and the United Kingdom (five percent), but significantly less than in the Netherlands (11 percent) and especially Germany (21 percent). In relative terms, 23 percent of Belgian investors use ETFs, which now places Belgium around the European average.
Young, digital, and increasingly diverse
“The pace of adoption has accelerated noticeably in recent years, especially among younger investors and women,” Dueñas Leiva said. The number of female ETF investors in Belgium has increased by 58 percent since 2022, while among investors aged 25 to 44 there has even been growth of more than 90 percent. Almost half of Belgian ETF investors today are younger than 35.
These figures point to a structural shift. ETFs are increasingly acting as the first entry product for new investors, particularly via digital platforms. “Investors are looking for simplicity, transparency, and cost efficiency,” said Dueñas Leiva. “ETFs perfectly meet those expectations.”
Equities, bonds, and funds remain prominently represented in Belgian portfolios. What stands out is that ETFs, after bonds, are the fastest-growing building block in portfolio construction. “In Belgium we do see a statistical distortion due to Belgian government bonds, which have had a strong impact on the growth of government bonds over the past three years,” said Dueñas Leiva.
Belgium follows Europe
Are specific ETFs more popular in Belgium than elsewhere in Europe? According to Blackrock, that is hardly the case. “We see no pronounced Belgian exceptions,” said Folcque. “The largest inflows go to the classic, broad indices such as MSCI World, MSCI ACWI, and the S&P500.”
This indicates that Belgian investors mainly opt for broad, internationally diversified exposure rather than tactical or country-specific accents. “That is in itself a healthy signal,” Dueñas Leiva said. “Diversification clearly comes first.”
In addition, Belgian investors are using their ETFs in an increasingly strategic way. They no longer use the instrument solely as a passive core, but also as a tactical tool to quickly adjust portfolios, hedge risks, or play specific themes.
What awaits Belgium in 2026?
For 2026, Blackrock sees three dominant trends that are also relevant for Belgian investors: AI-driven growth, income and predictability, and resilience through diversification. An important point of attention is the increasing concentration risk in major indices. “A limited number of stocks today weigh particularly heavily in indices such as the S&P500,” Folcque said. “That makes portfolios more vulnerable.”
In response, equal-weighted indices, active ETFs, and specific factor and thematic strategies are gaining ground. Blackrock expects active ETFs to grow to more than 4,000 billion dollar by 2030, accounting for around 16 percent of the total ETF market.
Currency risk is also receiving more attention. In 2024, barely two percent of European inflows into dollar ETFs went to hedged variants. In 2025, that share rose to 38 percent. “That is a fundamental shift,” said Folcque. “ETFs make it simple and cost-efficient to apply that hedging tactically.”
Record year for ETF flows
Globally, the ETF market reached a size of nearly 19,700 billion dollar at the end of 2025, with a record inflow of 2,300 billion dollar in a single year. In just three years, the market doubled in size.
Blackrock expects this market to reach nearly 27,000 billion dollar worldwide by 2030. In Europe, the catch-up potential remains large: while ETFs in the US already account for roughly half of asset allocation today, Europe remains stuck at around 20 percent.
In 2025, 389 billion dollar flowed into European ETFs, more than 100 billion dollar extra compared with 2024. Equity ETFs attracted the largest share of inflows, more than 72 billion dollar, a fourfold increase compared with previous years. “The inflow into European equities in 2025 is comparable to the total net inflow between 2015 and 2024 combined,” said Dueñas Leiva. “That is a clear break with the past.”
Thematically, there were four clear drivers in 2025: artificial intelligence, Europe, gold, and emerging markets. Technology ETFs, and especially AI-related strategies, recorded global inflows of more than 112 billion dollar, the highest level ever.