Citi streamlines ETF orders for APAC clients as regional assets hit $1.81t

Direct integration heightens efficiency as clients no longer need to reconcile on multiple and separate platforms.

Citi Investor Services has enabled financial information exchange (FIX) API connectivity for its Asia Pacific ETF clients on ACES (Advanced Citi ETF System), the bank’s global proprietary ETF platform.

This allows authorised participants to directly connect to the ACES platform for simplified ETF order placement, primary market creations and redemptions.

The service will first roll out in Australia and expand to Hong Kong later in 2026.

The FIX protocol is a global messaging standard for the real-time exchange of securities transaction information, Citi said.

Direct integration into the ACES platform heightens operation efficiency for participants, who must otherwise reconcile and manage instructions on multiple and separate platforms, Citi said.

ETF industry assets in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) hit $1.81t in February 2026. It has the potential to reach $3.5t by 2029, according to a 2025 report by PwC.

“The ETF sector globally, including in Asia Pacific, continues to see significant growth. To service these increasing flows, digitization is critical for speed, efficiency and standardization. Extending FIX API connectivity to Asia Pacific demonstrates our continued commitment to investing in our platform and ETF Servicing business to benefit clients and the broader ecosystem,” said Peggy Vena, head of ETF services at Citi Investor Services.