Citi becomes shareholder in HANetf to capitalise on growth of European ETF market
3 JUL, 2025
By Jose Luis Palmer from RankiaPro Europe
HANetf, Europe’s largest white-label ETF platform, has received a minority, non-controlling investment from Citi, marking a strategic move by the US bank to deepen its involvement in the growing ETF issuance space. HANetf will remain majority-owned by its founders, while Citi joins a roster of institutional backers that includes Elkstone, Point72 Ventures, and ThirdStream Partners.
The growth capital injection follows a period of rapid expansion for HANetf, with assets under management (AUM) reaching $7.7 billion—a 63.3% increase since January 2025, significantly outpacing the 17.7% growth rate of the wider European ETF market. Citi’s investment comes after a rigorous due diligence process, and reflects both the firm’s confidence in HANetf’s operating model and the increasing institutional interest in ETF white-labelling as a core component of the asset servicing value chain.
Growth and strategy in the ETF market
HANetf will use the proceeds to expand its platform’s capacity and infrastructure, particularly as interest from traditional active managers in entering the ETF market continues to grow. The firm already provides white-label services to 22 clients, representing over 16% of all brands active in the European ETF space.
Citi’s investment is a landmark moment for HANetf. It demonstrates the strength of our expertise, the growth of ETF white-labelling, and in HANetf’s importance within the European ETF ecosystem.
We’ve always believed that ETF white-labelling would become a core part of the asset management and servicing ecosystem as it has done so before within the broader funds industry. We’re proud to add Citi to our cap table alongside other high-quality institutional investors such as Point72, Elkstone, and ThirdStream, who have been investors in HANetf since 2017.
We are already reinvesting the profits from our growth and this investment will allow us to exponentially grow the capabilities of our own platform sooner, in order to build out HANetf’s capacity as more clients continue to choose HANetf to launch ETFs ahead other ETF launch options.
Hector McNeil and Nik Bienkowski, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, HANetf
The company intends to use the capital to build out its Irish Manco and MIFID firms and to anticipate a new wave of first-time ETF issuers. HANetf supports over 20 ETF brands and is planning new launches with two more large European asset managers after the summer.
Citi’s ambitions in ETF servicing
The move is part of Citi’s broader ambition to strengthen its ETF servicing offering in Europe, where the firm is expanding its end-to-end capabilities via its new Citi Velocity ETFs platform.
Investing in, and collaborating with HANetf, rounds out our end-to-end ETF capabilities and sets us apart. As the only global organisation that can deliver an entire ETF ecosystem around the aspiring Issuer, we provide a seamless operational connectivity for our large asset manager clients looking to launch ETFs in Europe, and can now draw upon HANetf’s expertise, to deliver a best of all world’s solution.
Andrew Jamieson, Global Head of ETF Product and Citi Velocity ETFs, Citi
With over 1,000 ETPs built across Europe, HANetf’s team brings a combined 400 years of ETF experience. Its platform has become instrumental for asset managers entering popular strategies such as options income, active equity, fixed income, and thematic investing.
