MAM launches global small companies ETF

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

4 June 2026

Growing investor demand for access to global small companies has prompted Macquarie Asset Management to launch a new systematic active exchange traded fund (ETF).

The company has announced today that it is launching the Macquarie Global Small Companies Active ETF (MWXS) which it says offers Australian investors access to a broader range of businesses, sectors and sources of return beyond large-cap companies.

It describes the new product, the fourth systematic active ETF across MAM’s platform, as an active strategy with the potential to deliver above benchmark returns.

The company said it follows the success of MAM’s systematic suite of global and domestic capabilities, with the Australian Core Strategy reaching $A1 billion in funds under management in less than two years.

It said that since launching its ETF platform in 2023, MAM now offers four fixed income and five equity ETFs with around $2 billion in assets under management, representing ~5x annual growth.

“The global small cap universe is broad and diverse, making it difficult to assess companies consistently at scale through traditional research alone. MAM’s systematic investment approach is designed to address this complexity by applying a disciplined, data-driven process across a wide investment universe to identify companies with attractive characteristics,” the company said

Macquarie Asset Management head of Systematic Investments, Benjamin Leung said that by applying a systematic process to the vast opportunity set offered by the small cap universe, MAM’s strategy seeks to identify companies with desirable characteristics, while helping to reduce the impact of emotional bias that can affect traditional investment approaches.“Our approach is designed to make global small caps a more accessible opportunity set for investors, while targeting potential outperformance relative to the index,” he added.

The launch of MQXS reflects growing investor demand for access to global small companies through actively managed ETFs, as investors continue to seek attractive returns and more efficient ways to diversify their portfolios.

Blair Hannon, Head of ETFs at Macquarie Asset Management said: “Investors are increasingly looking for active small cap solutions with the potential to deliver consistent excess returns. MAM is the number one active ETF manager by flows on the ASX^[1], with 9 actively managed ETFs in Australia totalling assets under management of $A2 billion.