ETFs in European Emerging Markets: Performance, Risk and Sustainability

Abstract

Over the past few decades, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have become one of the most innovative financial instruments traded in financial markets. The aim is to offer an overview of the ETF market in Emerging Europe through a study on performance, risks and sustainability. The research examines the costs, the performance of the fund over calendar year periods (annual return), the volatility measurements (standard deviation and Sharpe ratio), the components of modern portfolio theory (R-squared, alpha and beta) and the sustainability measurements (Morningstar Portfolio Corporate Sustainability Score and the Portfolio Carbon Risk Score). It is developed through the collecting and re-elaborating of a data set of 46 ETFs in emerging Europe published on www.morningstar.co.uk using a screener tool. Data are collected on October 7^th, 2023. The study uses an age-cohort analysis which is a method to analyze and evaluate changes in the behavior of a group with a common demographic feature in a given period of time. In particular, the analysis puts in evidence the value of some parameters of the cohort of funds in the period 2005-2022. Results of the study show that ETFs continue to have a positive performance, resisting the negative economic and social context and the investors’ attention to sustainable ETFs, especially in recent years, has increased. The findings will serve as an important point of reference for investment choices for building a profitable portfolio for the investor. This study contributes to the current understanding of how ETFs are developing in emerging Europe and how investments must always be oriented towards ethical and sustainability principles.