Our recent ETF administration victories at Global Custodian’s Industry Leaders Awards—for Client Service and ETF Basket Services—underscores our commitment to excellence in a rapidly evolving market. As the global ETF market is anticipated to reach USD 30 trillion in assets under management by 20291, new entrants considering launching ETFs are seeing endless opportunity—and, of course, unprecedented complexity.
Our award-winning ETF services address these dynamics head-on, combining award-winning client partnerships and technology advancements to navigate complexity and drive success for issuers and investors alike. As the ETF landscape evolves amid innovation and regulation, we explore how RBC Investor Services is pioneering ETF administration.
A shifting ETF landscape
Active ETFs have grown fifteenfold over the past 10 years, far outpacing passive ETFs (four times) and active mutual funds (nearly doubled)2. These funds prioritize outcome-oriented strategies over benchmark replication. Traditional mutual fund managers are increasingly entering the ETF space, converting or replicating mutual fund strategies inside an ETF wrapper to follow investor demand and reduce fees. Success hinges on early ecosystem alignment, securing distribution partners, advisors and model portfolio platforms before listing.
Blockchain-enabled tokenized funds are emerging as a parallel distribution channel and offer transformative benefits like near-instant settlement and 24/7 accessibility, prompting issuers to evaluate digital share classes alongside traditional wrappers.
Platform democratization is also helping break down barriers. Digital trading platforms like RBC Direct Investing have widened access to low-cost ETF trading, with millennials driving adoption. Asset-allocation ETFs are the new multi-asset fund. Direct investors want a “one-ticker portfolio” and we’ve seen massive growth in balanced, growth and equities-tilted asset-allocation ETFs in Canada, especially in discount brokerage firms.
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The new playbook for ETF launches
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Why client service matters more than ever
Our client service excellence is anchored in cross-organizational relationship-building, where every level—from senior leadership to operations staff—prioritizes client engagement. This commitment manifests through proactive action on client feedback, rapidly implementing system upgrades and service enhancements tailored to evolving ETF demands.
Flexible customization is another hallmark, with adaptable processes enabling bespoke reporting solutions that align precisely with client requirements. For first-time ETF issuers, dedicated launch support provides critical guidance and resources, easing market entry.
At the core lies a ringfenced ETF operations team based in Toronto, delivering end-to-end servicing, deep expertise and extended shift coverage to ensure uninterrupted client-facing support. When paired with strategic tech advancements—such as automated controls and insourced processing—this model elevates service reliability and responsiveness, setting a new industry benchmark.
Our client service excellence is anchored in cross-organizational relationship-building, where every level—from senior leadership to operations staff—prioritizes client engagement.
Leveraging technology
To build in our award successes, we’re also focused on leveraging technology and data and improve ETF servicing. Firstly, we’re investing in system improvements to enhance automated controls framework, resulting in decreased processing time while maintaining accuracy. We’re also making regular technology upgrades allow organizations to build in-house solutions for ETF servicing and streamline processes with reduced outsourcing.
It’s worth highlighting that our partnership with Bloomberg Basket integrates market-leading tools into our ETF ecosystem, while proprietary developments—such as automated Portfolio Composition File (PCF) and Trades Burst file creation—enhance speed and accuracy. These advances, coupled with RBC’s #3 ranking on the Evident AI list, underscore a commitment to leveraging our tech maturity from across the RBC enterprise.
The winners will be firms that innovate boldly while maintaining simple, transparent and robust operational infrastructure, particularly during market stress.
ETF outlook
We will see two forces colliding 2026: unprecedented product innovation, surging direct investor adoption and ETF integration into asset-allocation models on one side; and regulatory tightening, cost transparency demands and capacity constraints in market making and servicing on the other. The winners will be firms that innovate boldly while maintaining simple, transparent and robust operational infrastructure, particularly during market stress.
In 2026, the ETF industry is defined by six drivers that will reshape markets investor behaviour:
Record inflows and mutual fund displacement: Continued surge in ETF flows, with 2026 projected as the tipping point where ETFs outperform mutual funds in both Canada and the United States, becoming the default investment vehicle.
- Active ETF growth: Unprecedented growth in actively managed ETFs continues, with 2025 marking the fastest adoption in history.
- Fixed income innovation: Complex income strategies—including private credit, CLOs and structured income ETFs—will drive the next wave of growth, shifting focus from equity-dominated portfolios.
- AI transformation: AI will influence ETF screening, product design, trading algorithms, advisor portfolio construction and client education/suitability.
- Young investor demand: Gen Z and Millennials are flocking to direct investing platforms, fuelling record adoption and reshaping product demand toward digital-first solutions.
- Globalization of ETF flows: Investors are looking for global exposure across their strategies, which Canadian asset managers with global reach can provide. International ETFs now represent around 30% of flows in Canada.
As the ETF landscape evolves amid innovation and regulation, we will continue to stay at the forefront, combining award-winning client partnerships and technological agility to drive success for issuers and investors alike. Please reach out if you want to dive deeper into how we can help you turn industry challenges into opportunities.
RBC Investor Services is a pioneer in the Canadian ETF market with nearly 15 years of ETF asset servicing experience. Whether its ETF order management, portfolio composition file administration, ETF launch consulting, custody, fund accounting or market services that our clients and prospects are interested in, our ETF program provides industry-best, award-winning service for new entrants and established providers alike.
