Tradeweb's automated ETF trading now handles 96% of European tickets

Tradeweb's European ETF platform ended July with a record: 96 percent of tickets went through its automated AiEX tool, as reported by ETF Express from the venue's monthly data. Total volume on the European-listed marketplace came to €77.5 billion. That was up 29 percent from a year earlier. There was no sign of the summer slowdown.

Equity ETFs took 75 percent of the flow. That was six points above the trailing 12-month average. Fixed income accounted for 20 percent. Commodities made up 5 percent. Global Equities led the category list with €17.5 billion. North America Equities followed at €16.9 billion. Shares-based products dominated the top 10. The iShares Core EURO STOXX 50 UCITS ETF held the top spot for a second month. The Invesco Physical Gold ETC was the only non-equity entry. Buy orders swamped sell orders by 16 percentage points in equities and fixed income. In commodities, the buy-side edge was 14 points.

The 96 percent ticket share does not translate into notional share. AiEX handled 32 percent of euro volume. The gap between ticket count and notional is the real measure of automation's penetration. It remains wide.

Across the Atlantic, Tradeweb's consolidated US platform traded $90.6 billion in notional in July. That was up 45 percent from a year earlier. AiEX carried 58 percent of US tickets. Its notional share was 17 percent. Compared with that, European adoption looks aggressive.

“Clients are increasingly using a broader range of electronic workflows to execute ETF trades,” said Adam Gould, Tradeweb's global head of equities. Whether notional share starts to catch up to ticket share is the next question. At 32 percent, there is plenty of room.