Major asset managers are launching actively managed emerging-market ETFs, positioning them as alternatives to benchmarks increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence stocks. Pictet Asset Management, T. Rowe Price Group, and Baron Capital Group have introduced funds this year targeting sectors they claim are underrepresented in standard indexes.

The move represents a clear shift away from passive strategies tied to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which has become concentrated in a handful of technology companies. This mirrors the same AI-driven concentration that has reshaped US equity markets, leaving investors seeking diversification beyond tech-heavy benchmarks.

Fund managers argue that traditional passive approaches miss opportunities in commodity producers and technology suppliers operating outside the dominant AI sector. The strategy suggests growing concern among institutional investors about overexposure to a narrow slice of the market.

This trend reflects broader questions about market concentration and whether passive investing has created blind spots in emerging markets, potentially reshaping how trillions in assets get allocated.