Toronto Stock Exchange Celebrates 35 Years of ETF Innovation

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) proudly marks the 35th anniversary of  the world’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a special market close event featuring guests from across Canada’s ETF industry. 

The Toronto 35 Index® Participation Units, or TIPs®, the world’s first exchange-traded, index-linked  product, was launched on March 9, 1990, and served as the prototype for the modern-day ETF. As ETFs  have grown into a leading global investment vehicle, the Canadian ETF market has remained at the  forefront of the industry, with TSX leading the way in innovation, including listing the world’s first fixed  income ETF in 2000 and the world’s first Bitcoin ETF in 2021.  

In January 2024, TMX Group, owner and operator of TSX, broadened and enriched its support of the ETF  industry with the acquisition of VettaFi, a leading US-based, indexing, digital distribution, analytics and  thought leadership company.  

“We are extremely proud to see that ETFs – a Canadian invention – have changed the financial markets  and the way that investors interact with markets around the world,” said Loui Anastasopoulos, CEO,  Toronto Stock Exchange. “We look forward to working with asset managers to continue to build this  industry in Canada, as well as through our investment in TMX VettaFi to extend the services we offer on  a global scale.” 

At the end of January 2025, TSX ETFs held over $560 billion in AUM across 1,073 products. In 2024, $753 billion worth of ETF units were traded in Canada. Options on 53 ETFs trade on Montréal Exchange, Canada’s derivatives exchange and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group. 

“The Canadian ETF ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth and innovation in the past 35 years,” said Graham Mackenzie, Managing Director, Exchange Traded Products, Toronto Stock Exchange. “We are thankful to our clients, partners and stakeholders who have helped the Canadian industry reach a  significant milestone of $600 billion in assets under management.”