William Blair Investment Management Launches First ETFs, Expanding International and Emerging Markets Expertise to Active ETF Market

New ETFs extend firm’s more than three-decade heritage in non-U.S. investing to a transparent, tax-efficient structure

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--William Blair Investment Management today announced the launch of its first two actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs): the William Blair Emerging Markets Equity ETF (WBEM) and the William Blair International Equity ETF (WBIE). Both ETFs are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today.

The launch marks William Blair’s entry into the active ETF market, giving advisors and investors a new way to access the firm’s longstanding international and emerging markets investment capabilities.

William Blair has over three decades of experience investing outside the United States, launching its first international equity fund in 1992 and managing emerging markets equity portfolios since 1996. As of June 30, 2026, William Blair managed $19.8 billion in emerging markets equities and $18.5 billion in international equities.

WBEM and WBIE bring William Blair’s active, research-driven approach to an ETF structure at a time when investors are increasingly looking to ETFs for portfolio construction. The strategies rely on fundamental research and active selection to identify companies with attractive quality and growth characteristics across international and emerging markets.

“Investors are increasingly building portfolios with ETFs, and they want to access active strategies in the structure they prefer,” said Bob Kendall, Global Head of William Blair Investment Management. “These active ETFs are an evolution in how clients can access capabilities we have offered for decades. They reflect our belief that investors should have flexibility in how they access our investment expertise—across international and emerging markets today, and across additional asset classes over time.”

William Blair intends to expand its ETF platform over time, building on investment capabilities spanning U.S. equities, global equities, and emerging fixed income. The firm remains 100% employee-owned and committed to active management, with investment teams focused on fundamental research, security selection and disciplined portfolio construction.

“Each strategy is built with the investor in mind, and the role of each strategy in a portfolio,” said Jay Lisowski, Global Head of Product Strategy and Development at William Blair Investment Management. “The ETF wrapper adds increased tax efficiency, intraday liquidity, and transparency on top of an active approach investors already know—making it easier to incorporate active international and emerging markets strategies into modern portfolios.”

Please carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information is contained in the Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus, which you may obtain by calling 1-800-742-7272. Read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing. Investing includes the risk of loss.

The William Blair ETFs are distributed by William Blair & Company, L.L.C., member FINRA/SIPC.

About William Blair Investment Management

William Blair Investment Management is a premier global investment management partnership with a sole focus on active management across U.S. growth and core equities; U.S. value equities; global equities, including emerging markets equities; and emerging markets debt strategies. We work closely with private and public pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as financial advisors.

About William Blair

William Blair is the premier global partnership with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 30 offices worldwide. See: https://www.williamblair.com/

*Includes strategic alliances with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Equity Ltd.