ETFs globally have gone through an incredible growth phase over the past decade. The market has increased more than 700%, from below $1 trillion to around $7.7 trillion now (with a predicted volume of over $10 trillion by 2025 according to the recent Ernst & Young Annual ETF Conference).

While historically ETFs have been seen as a cost-efficient way to track passive investments, more recently we’ve seen considerable growth in the active and smart-beta space, and these types of investment vehicles now accounting for around 30% of the global ETF market.

• What are the challenges around sourcing the composition of ETFs?
• What are the key components required in ETF market making platforms?
• What are the challenges ETF market making technology needs to solve?
• ETF creation/redemption workflows - how is this evolving?
• Fixed Income ETFs have increased in popularity. What are the necessary platform changes to support this?

"The technology needed to support ETF trading has advanced considerably in the last decade. In the past, it was necessary to build in house, but now it is possible to find good vendor solutions."

^{*This article is first published in the Q1 2021 issue of GlobalTrading.}