Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
Active ETFs are attracting more assets as the product universe expands quickly. For ETF sales teams, the opportunity is not simply knowing which funds are growing. It is knowing who owns them.
The active ETF market has expanded rapidly. According to the Investment Company Institute, active ETF assets increased from $166 billion at year-end 2020 to $1.1 trillion by June 2025. The number of active ETFs rose from 435 to 1,935 over the same period.
Active ETF net share issuance reached $207 billion during the first half of 2025, compared with $58 billion during all of 2020. With nearly 2,000 active products competing for attention by mid-2025, managers need a clearer view of where demand already exists and which firms are most likely to allocate.
Ownership data turns market growth into a sales strategy
Headline AUM and flow data show which ETFs are gaining traction. Ownership data shows where that traction is coming from.
Form 13F filings provide a quarterly view into ETF positions reported by institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in eligible securities. When organized across products, firms, and filing periods, the data can help a sales team answer practical questions:
- Which firms currently own an ETF?
- Which firms hold competing products in the same category?
- Where are positions being initiated, increased, reduced, or exited?
- Is a fund’s ownership broad or concentrated among a few large accounts?
- Which firms favor active products over passive alternatives?
These signals help separate a broad prospect list from a group of firms with demonstrated demand.
For example, Dakota’s analysis of RIA ownership across AI ETFs identified which RIAs owned specific AI-focused products, the size of their positions, and how ownership changed over time. The same approach can be applied across equity, fixed income, alternatives, thematic, income, and outcome-oriented strategies.
Search the active ETF market in Dakota
Dakota Marketplace brings ETF product and ownership data into one searchable view. Sales and distribution teams can search active ETFs and filter the market by:
- Asset class
- Sub-asset class
- Geography
- Active or passive product type
- ETF AUM
- Underlying institutional owners reported through 13F filings
This makes it possible to start with a strategy and work backward to the buyer.
A sales team covering an active international equity ETF, for example, can identify comparable products, see which firms own them, compare position sizes, and monitor changes across filing periods. A team marketing a fixed-income ETF can narrow the universe to firms already allocating within the relevant sub-asset class rather than treating every ETF user as an equally qualified prospect.
Dakota also connects ETF holdings to allocator profiles, contacts, and relevant firm news. Instead of stopping at a ticker and a reported position, users can identify the firm behind the holding and the people responsible for evaluating the strategy.
Find switch opportunities before making the call
As the active ETF market matures, more sales opportunities will involve winning an existing allocation from a competitor.
Ownership data can identify firms holding a competing fund, show the size of the position, and reveal whether that allocation is growing or being reduced. That gives the sales team a specific reason to engage rather than relying on a generic product introduction.
Dakota’s guide to using 13F data to win ETF switch business outlines several practical applications, including targeting competitor position reductions, finding same-category holdings, and identifying concentrated relationships with a single ETF issuer.
A more focused approach to ETF distribution
Active ETFs are gaining share, but the expanding product universe makes distribution more competitive. The teams with the clearest view of existing ownership will be better positioned to prioritize the right firms, tailor the sales case, and identify opportunities earlier.
Dakota makes the active ETF market searchable by strategy, geography, AUM, and underlying owner, helping distribution teams move from broad coverage to a focused list of firms with demonstrated demand.
Book a demo to pull it directly in Dakota Marketplace.
