State Street has expanded its Fund Connect ETF portal to clients in Europe and Asia Pacific via upgrades to its Application Protocol Interface (API).
Issuers in Europe will now be able to access the digital API portal when facilitating the creation and redemption of ETFs.
The upgrades means clients can place orders directly with funds via their order management systems.
The group now offers its Fund Connect ETF API to a global client base, having already been available in the US and Canada.
State Street's API accounts for almost half of order volumes in North America, according to State Street.
State Street’s portal allows access to ETFs in multiple currencies, supplying a direct link between authorised participants, order takers, sub-advisors and sponsors.
Frank Koudelka, global head of ETF product at State Street, said: “Close to 100 authorised participants are communicating their create-redeem orders globally on behalf of our ETF clients to State Street via Fund Connect.
“The continued theme we have heard from them is a desire to communicate system-to-system as opposed to web portals.”
Lori Coakley, global business head of Fund Connect ETF at State Street, added: “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.”
The launch comes a week after BlackRock added BNY Mellon as a post-trade service provider for its Irish-domiciled ETFs, alongside State Street.
In June, State Street extended its Alpha asset servicing platform to offer front, middle and back-office capabilities for ETF issuers.
