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Jio BlackRock to launch ETF in August after $2 billion India fund base

Jio BlackRock Asset Management will launch its first exchange traded funds in India by August. The company hopes to emulate 'BlackRock’s' global success in passive investment in a market that is still developing.

In the year following its launch, the joint venture between MukeshAmbani's Jio Financial Services (JFS) and the largest asset manager in world has managed to amass about 180 billion rupees in assets. This was achieved by establishing a solid base of cash, debt index and active equity funds.

The plan is to begin with equity-focused ETFs.

BlackRock manages approximately $5.1 trillion worth of ETF assets worldwide, which is more than a third of all assets managed by the company. This highlights the importance of this product line for its brand. Jio?BlackRock is currently India's 29th largest asset manager.

"ETFs can be a good long-term investment." Retailers are now becoming more interested in ETFs, even though the Indian market is predominantly institutional. We can see by global trends that?ETFs are a popular choice of investment," said Sid Swaminathan.

ETF INNOVATION CAN BOOST LIQUIDITY

According to the Mutual Fund Industry Association, passive mutual fund assets in India amounted to 15.20 trillion rupees (or about 18.5%) of the industry’s average assets under administration, which totaled 81.94 trillion.

Comparatively, equity index funds and ETFs make up about 45.3% (or more) of the long-term mutual and ETF assets held in the U.S.

Swaminathan stated that tighter bid-offer margins and more innovative strategy could help improve liquidity and boost participation by retail in Indian ETFs.

Within the next few months, the company plans to 'launch products' in GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), India’s low-tax financial centre that competes with centres like Singapore and Dubai.

COMPLEX PRODUCTS?PROMPT PIVOT DISTRIBUTOR -LED MODEL

Jio BlackRock's more complex products, such as special investment funds or GIFT City, are distributed by Jio BlackRock rather than digitally. This reflects the role that advisers continue to play in selling higher-ticket items.

Swaminathan stated that the decision to "prioritise" those launches was partly driven by market conditions. India's Nifty 50 index has fallen 11.1% in 2026 due to foreign outflows and higher oil prices, as well as a slowing of earnings growth. MSCI's Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Index is up 18.2%.

(source: Reuters)