Pictet Asset Management makes its debut on the LSE with five new technology-focused ETFs

From 2 July 2026, the London Stock Exchange will list five new products from Pictet Asset Management, all part of the “AI Enhanced” range: a family of actively managed equity ETFs that uses proprietary artificial intelligence models to select securities across four investment universes — global, US, Europe and global excluding the US.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Article created by the editorial staff of ETFWorld.co.uk

David Wright, Head of Quantitative Investments at Pictet Asset Management

The Geneva-based group is bringing its AI-enhanced equity strategy to London, replicated across four geographical regions and available across eight share classes

Multiple share classes are available for each geographical region, designed for investors with different needs: the ‘Dist’ versions distribute income periodically, whilst the ‘Acc’ versions automatically reinvest it in the fund.

The strategy: artificial intelligence to beat the benchmark, not to overturn it

The hallmark of these ETFs is the use of machine learning models developed in-house by Pictet Asset Management’s Quantitative Investments team, led by David Wright. The stated aim is not to construct a portfolio that differs significantly from its benchmark, but to remain close to the market benchmark whilst generating consistent outperformance over time, whilst maintaining a neutral exposure to traditional style factors (value, growth, momentum and the like).

Pictet describes this approach as an alternative to both classic factor models and large generative language models: the rationale is to identify complex patterns in market data that elude traditional human analysis, in order to extract a specific return component from individual securities that has historically remained unexplained by standard risk factors. On this basis, the group constructs broadly diversified portfolios — in the case of the international version already listed in the United States, the ETF holds over 260 securities in its portfolio — whilst maintaining a low tracking error relative to the benchmark MSCI indices.

The new Pictet ETFs fall within the ‘active enhanced indexing’ segment, an approach that aims to maintain risk and exposure characteristics very close to those of the benchmark index, whilst integrating an additional source of return through active and systematic management. The aim is to deliver consistent outperformance relative to the benchmark (between 1 and 1.5% per annum net of fees), replicating the benchmark basket (beta 1) and maintaining a low tracking error (maximum 2%), with a risk profile consistent with that of the reference market.

Underpinning these strategies is the proprietary artificial intelligence model developed by Pictet Asset Management, which analyses over 400 variables for each listed company, combining fundamental data, sentiment indicators and market information that has been adjusted for common factors (style, sector, geography), thereby isolating the truly specific component of each company. Thanks to advanced machine learning techniques, the model identifies relationships and signals that are difficult to detect using traditional quantitative approaches. The result is a clean, idiosyncratic alpha.

The term ‘AI Enhanced’ reflects precisely this approach: not to replace the market, but to enhance its potential. The strategies maintain a structure that is broadly similar to that of the benchmark index, introducing small overweights and underweights on individual securities identified by the model as the most promising.

The AI Enhanced model is the result of over a decade of research into machine learning applied to quantitative investing and builds on the expertise of Pictet Asset Management’s Quantitative Investments team, which has been active for over twenty years in the development of systematic strategies. The proprietary infrastructure, based in Geneva, and the ability to process large volumes of data enable the team to constantly update the model’s forecasts and adapt the portfolio to changing market conditions.

David Wright, Head of Quantitative Investments at Pictet Asset Management, commented: “Investors often believe that improving returns means seeking new or alternative sources of outperformance. In reality, it usually involves navigating more intelligently within the same investment universe and using the same information. The strength of AI lies precisely in its ability to identify complex patterns that humans cannot see. Our new AI-Enhanced active ETFs provide clients with the key elements to achieve an excess return relative to the benchmark whilst keeping costs down and avoiding a significant increase in risk.”

From Wall Street to the LSE: the recent history of the range

Pictet Asset Management only entered the ETF market in October 2025, with the US launch of three actively managed funds: the AI Enhanced International Equity ETF (PQNT), the Cleaner Planet ETF (PCLN) and the AI & Automation ETF (PBOT). A fourth fund, the AI Enhanced US Equity ETF (PQUS), followed in February 2026, with the launch of two ETFs focusing on emerging market debt and equities in April.

Also in April, Pictet announced its entry into the European ETF market, with five new UCITS sub-funds domiciled in Ireland, dedicated respectively to the US, global, emerging, European and global (excluding the US) markets. In the announcement, the company described the initiative as a response to evolving investor preferences, aimed at bringing its expertise in AI-driven equity management to an ETF vehicle for the first time in Europe as well. Operational support for the launch was entrusted to Waystone, a Dublin-based firm specialising in capital markets services for ETFs.

The Pictet Group

Pictet Asset Management is part of the Pictet Group, a partnership of managing partners based in Geneva, active since 1805 and focused on wealth management, asset management, alternative investments and related services. The asset management division manages assets totalling approximately $329 billion (as at 31 March 2026) and operates eighteen business development centres worldwide, including Milan, as well as London, Geneva, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.

Source: ETFWorld.co.uk