On the 2 June ISLA, in collaboration with our fantastic co-hosts Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and S&P Global Market Intelligenceย hosted an insightful, data-driven Educational Briefing in London covering the exploration of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
We saw almost 80 ISLA Connects attendees who braved the tube strikes and torrential rain to join us for an educational briefing, where our speakers and panellists explored themes from explosive market growth to evolving structural dynamics, their utility in securities finance as well as the data behind the top line narrative.
What is clear, is that ETFs have firmly established themselves as a core component of modern market infrastructure.
Key Takeaways from last night:
โพ๐จ๐ป๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ: The global ETF universe has grown by 6x over the past 10 years, officially surpassing $21.9 Trillion in AUM across Europe, the Americas and Asia in 2026, with over 14500 ETFs currently being traded.
โพ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: While there has been an unprecedented pace of growth, we are also witnessing closures in the market, pointing to the maturing nature of the market with investors seeking clear revenues over speculation.
โพ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐: Active management has become a dominant driver of industry growth, capturing an impressive 30-40% of total ETF inflows this year despite representing less than 10% of the ETF market.
โพ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ: ETFs are increasingly vital in the securities finance space. ETF lending revenues hit an all-time high of $1.2 Billion in 2025, surpassing EMEA equities revenue for the first time on record. Although it is highly concentrated, with 25 ETFs generating 41% lending revenues.
โพ ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐ถ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ: The interest rate environment and increased geopolitical volatility has led to demand for hedging and liquidity with high-yield fixed income ETFs and leveraged mega-tech thematic ETFs driving massive borrowing activity for credit hedging and tactical market positioning. Given their structure, ETFs act as a real time reflection of wider borrowing trends and market influences.
We wrapped up an incredible evening of insights with final remarks from our CEO, Ina Budh-Raja, before closing the evening with networking and refreshments.
For more information on our ISLA Connects initiative and to ensure you stay up-to-date on all upcoming ISLA Connects briefings, visit our designated page here.
