Tradeweb Markets, an operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities, and money markets, launched its U.S. trading platform for exchange-traded funds 10 years ago and adoption of automated trading has continually increased.

Adam Gould, global head of equities at Tradeweb, told Markets Media that when the firm opened the platform, it was clear that ETFs were here to stay as they provide efficiency, intraday liquidity and favorable tax treatment relative to other products. He said: “It was a calculated gamble, but I don’t think anybody could have anticipated just how much ETFs would take off in terms of the body of clients and exposures to different asset classes and strategies in the wrapper.”

Global ETF assets reached a record $21.2 trillion at end of February this year, according to ETFGI, an independent research and consultancy firm. Since launching, Tradeweb’s U.S. ETF trading platform has executed $3.8 trillion in total trading volume, including a record $930bn in 2025 across a growing base of close to 200 clients globally according to a blog from Gould.

In the blog Gould described ETFs as the “Swiss army knife” of institutional investing as they provide instant exposure to a broad range of securities with lower transaction costs. Spreads may widen in the underlying constituents when volatility picks up, but spreads can be lower in ETFs as so many market makers are willing to quote prices and provide liquidity. The creation and redemption mechanism at the end of each day through Authorized Patrticiants allows market makers to take on a big position without having to hold it overnight.

Gould gave the example of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 when ETF volumes on Tradeweb’s U.S. platform rose 242% year-over-year. A similar pattern occurred in April 2025, following the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements from the U.S. administration and total notional volume on the platform rose by 110% year-over-year as clients responded to the market shock.

“Data certainly backs up that ETF volumes tend to spike when the market is volatile,” said Gould. “The last few months have been super busy as volumes continue to go up.”

Electronic trading

There has been an increase in orders executed on the platform using Tradeweb’s Automated Intelligent Execution (AiEX) tool, which allows clients to pre-define execution parameters and automate how orders are routed and timed based on market conditions.

Over the past five years, AiEX volume on the Tradeweb platform has grown by 306%, including a 257% increase from 2024 to 2025, according to Gould. Over the same period, the number of clients using AiEX rose 281%, with 116% growth between 2024 and 2025. The number of large trades comprising orders over 100,000 shares executed via AiEX increased by 95% from 2024 to 2025, which Tradeweb said underscored growing client comfort and trust in the platform for higher-value executions.

In January and February this year nearly half, 49%, of U.S. ETFs were executed using AiEX, up from just 15% during the same period last year, according to Gould.  He said: “We are definitely a leader in rules-based automated trading, having launched AiEX nearly fifteen years ago, and that continues to grow at an unbelievable rate, so we are on the right side of history.”

Gould argued the increased use of AiEX is due to trading desks being asked to do more with less and the number of ETFs is dramatically higher. In addition, AiEX provides traders with best execution, an audit trail and optimization of data to make sure their request-for-quotes (RFQs) go to the right people.

The ETF SNAP functionality has expanded to include tools such as dealer selection, which dynamically selects dealers based on criteria defined by buy-side clients, which can include real-time axes, historical hit and quote rates and size buckets, to provide more consistent execution outcomes across varying market conditions.

“We expect rules-based automated RFQs to continue to grow,” added Gould. “When we first started the parameters were fairly simple, such as a certain size range, going to certain dealers and needing a certain amount of responses.”

He expects the rules to become more granular, such as applying to a certain amount of the average volume, or level of volatility. Tradeweb will continue to expand that functionality and “make it even more powerful,” said Gould.

Growth

Gould claimed that the touch point between the client and Tradeweb is a big differentiator, and the firm’s goal is to be able to integrate with any order management system.

Billy Hult, chief executive of Tradeweb, said on the fourth quarter 2025 earnings conference call that in equities, ETFs posted strong double-digit revenue growth as the firm continues to deepen integration with clients. Hult added that the efforts to broaden its equity presence beyond the ETF franchise continue to pay off, with record institutional equity derivatives revenues, up 18% year-on-year. In the fourth quarter, Hunt said the fourth quarter had the highest level of ETF market maker participation ever across the institutional credit business.

“Looking ahead, the pipeline remains strong as the benefits of our electronic solutions continue to resonate with our clients,” said Hult. “We believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on the long-term secular ETF growth story, not just in equities, but across our fixed income business.”

Gould said one of the things Tradeweb is planning is to make it easier for clients trading ETFs to hedge their positions. For example, a client trading a credit ETF on the platform would be able to link to Tradeweb’s rates platform.

“We are in a good position to scale the business,” Gould added. “Mutual funds were once apprehensive about launching ETFs but most now use them and are now launching their own products.”

He argued there are a lot of tailwinds with ETF usage, integrated and automated workflows, and data optimization, that line up nicely with Tradeweb’s offering.