Investment fund manufacturers have launched 17 systematic exchange-traded funds in Canada so far in 2026, seeking to attract investors with rules-based equity ETFs that come with lower fees than most actively managed funds.

Fees for systematic ETFs average 48 per cent below traditional active ETFs within the same category, according to a July report from Morningstar Canada, “making them cheap and credible rivals to both active and passive managers.”

“It’s the year of the systematic. It really did seem to come out of nowhere,” says Kimberly Hart, director of manager research for Morningstar Canada and author of the report.

“It says to me that [asset] managers see a large, potential addressable market…