Institutional ETF trading - Innovation, efficiency and versatility fuel growth

Despite a 30-year history, exchange-traded fund (ETF) adoption still felt new and nascent in many parts of the world when this survey was first conducted in 2017. Today, ETFs are widely accepted as important tools and usage has greatly expanded among institutions in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Globally, the ETF ecosystem continues to experience impressive asset growth and product innovation. The industry has continued to build on the additional confidence placed in ETFs following their vital role in facilitating efficient risk transfer during the extreme volatility experienced in 2020. Since the inaugural survey four years ago, ETF assets under management have more than doubled globally and, earlier this year, surpassed $10 trillion. ETFs have attracted net new assets at a rapid pace in 2021, recording net inflows of over $1 trillion year-to-date.

This report presents the findings from Risk.net’s fifth annual global ETF trading survey, commissioned by Jane Street. It includes responses from 380 institutional investors, as well as qualitative interviews from six buy-side firms.