Sep 22, 2021

News provided by Equiduct Systems Ltd on Wednesday 22nd Sep 2021 This is a thrilling launch for Equiduct as we continue to expand while democratising trading for retail investors who now have access the hottest ETFs Equiduct will offer 436 ETFs and ETPs for trading through Apex London, 22 September 2021: Equiduct, the pan-European retail exchange, announced today that it has launched Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) trading on Apex – Equiduct’s on-exchange Best Execution service with zero trading fees for retail brokers. This is a major step in enabling access to ETFs for European retail investors. In Europe ETFs have been less accessible to retail than in the US market – 40% US retail investors invest in ETFs, compared to only 15-20% in Europe [1] . ETFs in Europe are still predominantly traded by institutional investors either via request for quote (RFQ) or over-the-counter (OTC), avoiding the challenges of Best Execution with liquidity fragmented across multiple markets, a key barrier to retail access. Equiduct, already known for its focus on innovative equity trading solutions for retail investors, now brings 436 ETFs and ETPs under the umbrella of its unique Best Execution service, Apex. These products span multiple asset classes and geographies, as well as thematic ETFs and leveraged ETPs from 13 different issuers, such as Lyxor ETF and VanEck. The project will be delivered in two phases: phase one is now live with over 321 ETFs; phase two completing in early 2022 with an extra 215 ETFs. This latest launch means that more than four million retail investors across Europe can now access, on-exchange, pre-trade transparent Best Execution in these ETFs via Equiduct’s zero-commission Apex service. Wail Azizi, Managing Director & Global Head of Growth at Equiduct said: “This is a thrilling launch for Equiduct as we continue to expand while democratising trading for retail investors who will now have access the hottest ETFs on the market. ETFs can provide easy and cost-effective investment opportunities to the millions of retail investors accessing the market through Equiduct. Challenging the status quo by breaking barriers and bringing unparalleled commission-free Best Execution to the retail community across the world is part of our DNA and we will continue to do so.” This launch is fully supported by Virtu, a leading global market maker and liquidity provider. David Furlong, CEO and Head of Trading at Virtu Financialsaid: “Virtu is proud to be working with Equiduct to provide reliable liquidity across such a wide range of ETFs. ETFs are a growing trading instrument for the retail industry and we’re excited to be a part of enhancing the whole market ecosystem for retail investors. We are passionate about delivering best-in-class execution with every trade, making this a natural extension of our global liquidity offerings.” Marcello Chelli, European Head of Distribution and Retail at Lyxor ETF commented “We are pleased to see that a significant number of Lyxor ETFs on several asset classes have been selected by Equiduct for this initiative aiming at improving the access of retail investors to ETFs across Europe. Lyxor has made the ability to provide cutting-edge, innovative and cost-effective solutions for retail, intermediaries and IFAs a priority in its product strategy. “ Martijn Rozemuller, CEO of VanEck Europe said “Our groundbreaking thematic ETFs, which are already so popular via primary markets, now have a new access point via Equiduct. This is an important step in the maturing of ETFs for retail investors. Now, key retail brokers in Europe will be able to offer unique ETFs for investing, such as our video gaming and eSports ETF as quickly as they could play a game online.” The full list of Equiduct’s trading universe can be found on our Document Library . ----END--- Laura Serafini at Equiduct About Equiduct Equiduct is an innovative, client driven pan-European trading venue designed to enable retail brokers and institutional clients to achieve Best Execution in the most liquid and fragmented cash equities and ETFs. Focused on providing solutions for our members in the post MiFID environment, Equiduct has developed unique products designed to revolutionise retail trading which facilitate order execution against the pan-European consolidated order book. Its focus is to ensure market participants are able to access the best prices available in Europe by utilising a proprietary price discovery calculation. Equiduct provides pan-European trading across 11 markets covering 16 European headline indices. In 2019, Equiduct launched Apex: a fully transparent, MiFID-compliant, regulated trading service which allows retail orders to execute against the pan-European order book and is supported by a pool of Liquidity Providers and active brokers. In 2020 it reported an overall ADV (average daily volume) of €281m for the last quarter of the year, gaining 65% in comparison to the same quarter in 2019. ADV for 2020 reached €283m, up from €149m in 2019 – an 88% increase. By comparison, trading activity across Europe’s lit markets grew by only 5% year on year. Equiduct is a market segment of Börse Berlin, a regulated market operator under Article 44 of MiFID II. Börse Berlin is regulated by the Competent Authority Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe – Börsenaufsichtsbehörde and participation in trading is governed by German and European law. For more information on Equiduct, please visit: www.equiduct.com About Virtu Financial, Inc. Virtu is a leading financial services firm that leverages cutting-edge technology to provide execution services and data, analytics and connectivity products to its clients and deliver liquidity to the global markets. Leveraging its global market making expertise and infrastructure, Virtu provides a robust product suite including offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. Virtu’s product offerings allow clients to trade on hundreds of venues across 50+ countries and in multiple asset classes, including global equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, futures, fixed income and myriad other commodities. In addition, Virtu’s integrated, multi-asset analytics platform provides a range of pre and post-trade services, data products and compliance tools that clients rely upon to invest, trade and manage risk across global markets. For more information on Virtu, please visit: www.virtu.com or contact info@virtu.com About Lyxor ETF Lyxor Asset Management Group ("the Lyxor group"), wholly-owned directly or indirectly by Societe Generale and composed notably of two subsidiaries (1) (2), is a European asset management specialist, an expert in all investment styles, active, passive or alternative. From ETFs to multi-management, with EUR 188.4 billion* under management and advisory, Lyxor group creates innovative investment solutions to meet the long-term challenges of sustainable investments, with a particular focus on the fight against climate change. Thanks to its experts and its engineering tradition and research, Lyxor group combines search for performance and risk management. (1) Lyxor Asset Management S.A.S. is approved by the «Autorité des marchés financiers» (French regulator) under the agreement # GP98019. (2) Lyxor International Asset Management S.A.S. is approved by the «Autorité des Marchés Financiers» (French regulator) under the agreement # GP04024. * Including EUR 21.1 billion Assets under Advisory, equivalent of USD 224.9 billion in assets under management and advisory (including USD 25.1 billion Assets under Advisory) at the end of July 2021. About VancEck VanEck has been driven by innovation and stood for intelligent, prescient investment strategies ever since its founding in 1955. As an asset manager, it currently manages some 83 billion US dollars* worldwide, including exchange-traded funds (ETF), active funds and institutional accounts. With over 90 ETFs around the world, the investment firm offers a comprehensive portfolio covering numerous sectors, asset classes and smart beta strategies. VanEck was one of the first asset managers to offer investors access to global markets. It has consistently aimed at identifying new trends and asset classes, such as gold investments in 1968, emerging markets in 1993 and ETFs in 2006, an approach that is still shaping the entire investment sector today. Headquartered in New York City, VanEck maintains locations around the globe, including offices in Frankfurt, Madrid, Zurich, Amsterdam, Sydney and Shanghai. * 31 August 2021