State Street Corporation has expanded its Fund Connect ETF portal via upgrades to its application programming interface (API), to offer coverage to all clients globally, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Fund Connect ETF APIs have been available in the United States and Canada for years and account for nearly half of North American order volumes.

Fund Connect ETF is a global online portal that facilitates the creation and redemption of ETFs, designed as a single point of access to many issuers. The portal’s automated order routing solution provides access to ETFs in multiple currencies, supplying a direct link between authorized participants, order takers, sub-advisers, and sponsors.

The API expansion allows global market participants to scale their businesses and capitalize on efficiency gains and risk reduction through the portal’s automated API technology.

“This expansion is in response to the growing demand from our valued [authorized participants], particularly those in Europe and APAC, who have expressed a strong interest in leveraging State Street’s best-in-class connectivity,” says 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.”

The ETF market has witnessed unparalleled growth over the course of the past few years, driving a surge in demand for increased automation within the creation and redemption framework.

Recognizing this trend, State Street is meeting the evolving needs of its authorized participants by upgrading one of the most integral parts of its GlobalLink product suite. With this enhanced API integration, clients globally will now be able to seamlessly place orders directly with funds via their own order management systems, the firm says.

“The global API connectivity is the next logical step in the continued digitization of our ETF servicing business,” notes Frank Koudelka, global head of ETF Product at State Street. “Close to 100 authorized 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, 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.”