European retail exchange Equiduct has expanded its offering to retail investors across Europe to include fixed income, crypto and commodity exchange-traded products (ETPs).
Investors will also be able to access short and leveraged ETPs and a range of thematic products via its best execution service Apex, as well as new geographies including the US, Asia and emerging markets.
The business said over five million retail investors will now be able to invest in 720 ETFs and ETPs – with zero retail trading fees – following its launch of 321 ETFs just over a year ago.
New issuers signed up to the trading platform include 21Shares, ETC Group, Global X, Leverage Shares and WisdomTree.
Issuers already signed up include Amundi, VanEck, DWS, BlackRock, Legal & General Investment Management, State Street Global Advisors and Invesco.
Wail Azizi, chief strategy officer at Equiduct, said: “Cryptocurrency ETPs in particular are appealing to retail investors as an innovative medium of convergence between DeFI and TradFI.
“We are also thrilled to include short and leverage products to our offering facilitating retail investors access to magnified exposures and more diverse investment and hedging strategies.”
Retail uptake of ETFs in Europe has been slow to take off, however, there are signs this could be changing.
Currently, ETF investment differs widely across the continent with markets such as Germany leading the way.
However, Italy has recently caught the attention of ETF issuers and online platforms, with many creating partnerships to distribute their ETFs within the country.
According to a recent survey by PwC, online platforms are set to become the biggest driver of ETFs in Europe over the next three years, helping issuers lower costs of distribution, improve accessibility and attract new investors.
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