Citi Securities Services and State Street Corp. have both announced enhancements to the automation capabilities for their global ETF offerings.
With interest in the funds growing worldwide and with faster T+1 settlements incoming for US equities, corporate debt and unit investment trusts in May, firms are keen to ensure they have the most streamlined offering and grow their market share.
Following a successful pilot, Citi is adding Financial Information eXchange API connectivity on ACES, its online global ETF portal that fully automates the entire ETF process and allows authorized participants in the 12 markets the firm’s ETF services business operates in to create and redeem shares more easily.
“With the ETF industry’s move to T+1 looming around the corner and the push for digitization, this enhancement comes at an opportune time,” said Paul Spyropoulos, ETF product manager at Citi Securities Services. “By integrating ACES with the FIX protocol, we are unlocking scalability and efficiency not only for our clients, but all ETF market participants.”
FIX is used by around 300 members and is a communications protocol for the international real-time exchange of securities transaction information.
“As the ETF sector continues to see tremendous growth, enhanced speed and efficiency will be of critical importance and FIX helps to enable that,” added Peggy Vena, head of ETF services for Citi Securities Services.
Meanwhile, at State Street, there has been an upgrade to the API for its Fund Connect ETF portal.
While the capability has been available in the U.S. and Canada for several years and accounts for around half of North American order volumes, the upgrade rolls this out to clients globally.
“This expansion is in response to the growing demand from our valued APs, particularly those in Europe and APAC, who have expressed a strong interest in leveraging State Street’s best-in-class connectivity,” said Lori Coakley, global business head of Fund Connect ETF at State Street. “Not only does this cater to that increasing demand for streamlined and automated ETF creation and redemption processes, but it also further solidifies our position as a leader in in the ETF industry.”
State Street has around 100 authorized participants currently using the Fund Connect portal to create and redeem orders and Frank Koudelka, global head of ETF Product, says demand is growing.
“The continued theme we have heard from them is a desire to communicate system-to-system as opposed to web portals, and Fund Connect is now the first create/redeem portal with fully enabled via APIs across Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe and the United States. This further demonstrates the innovations that State Street has brought to the marketplace as the largest global ETF service provider.”
Eliseo Prisno, a former Merrill advisor, allegedly collected unapproved fees from Filipino clients by secretly accessing their accounts at two separate brokerages.
The Harford, Connecticut-based RIA is expanding into a new market in the mid-Atlantic region while crossing another billion-dollar milestone.
The Wall Street giant's global wealth head says affluent clients are shifting away from America amid growing fallout from President Donald Trump's hardline politics.
Chief economists, advisors, and chief investment officers share their reactions to the June US employment report.
"This shouldn’t be hard to ban, but neither party will do it. So offensive to the people they serve," RIA titan Peter Mallouk said in a post that referenced Nancy Pelosi's reported stock gains.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
