BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, predicts assets in Europe's booming exchange trade funds market will double to $2tn in five years' time, as investors continue to shift their allegiance to passive products as actively managed investments fail to outperform.

The expected rise in assets is likely to be fuelled by increased investor appetite for fixed-income ETFs and products with a strong focus on environmental, social and governance issues — another significant growth spot for the European asset management sector.