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Written by: Edward A. Rosenberg, Head of ETF Capital Markets & Analytics
As you determine which ETFs best meet your clients’ needs and objectives, bear in mind ETF liquidity and trading. This will help you better maximize opportunities and optimize trades at the best possible price in order to gain potentially higher total returns. A common misconception holds that to get “best execution,” an ETF must possess significant average daily trading volume. ETFs actually have three levels of liquidity:
Examining the level of liquidity of a specific ETF will help determine its appropriate trading strategy.
We often hear this question from our investors: Can I trade an ETF with low average daily volume (ADV) or less-liquid underlying holdings without moving the price? The answer requires an advisor to have an understanding of how ETF trading works, including the various levels of ETF liquidity and techniques to help achieve best execution when trading ETFs.
ETF VOLUME ALONE DOES NOT EQUAL LIQUIDITY
First, it is critical to understand that ETFs trade quite differently than stocks and other investments. The reason: The intrinsic value of an ETF reflects the value of its underlying securities. A common misconception holds that to get best execution, an ETF must possess significant average daily trading volume. But onscreen volume isn’t a proxy for ETF liquidity. That’s because executed share volume pertains only to the secondary market exchanges on which the ETFs trade.* ETFs actually have three levels of liquidity across the primary and secondary markets. Consequently, average daily trading volume delivers an incomplete measure of actual liquidity. As Exhibit 1 on the next page illustrates, roughly 7% of all listed ETFs comprise about 87% of ETF volume. Generally, these ETFs are based on standard benchmarks, or they are leveraged or inverse ETFs. A leveraged ETF aims to deliver two or three times the return on its stated index, while an inverse ETF tries to deliver returns that are the opposite of the index’s returns.
More than 64% of all ETFs trade less than 50,000 shares per day. Most often, these encompass specialized or alpha-generating strategies. Alpha-generating securities, when added to an existing portfolio, attempt to create excess returns above a preselected benchmark index. As a result of the various liquidity sources across the markets, these ETFs can be traded as effectively as those with greater daily exchange volume. MULTIPLE SOURCES OF LIQUIDITY To effect optimal trades, it is valuable to know and understand the various sources of ETF liquidity (see Exhibit 2).
Level One
You may be familiar with the National Best Bid Offer (NBBO), the publicly available view of the secondary market used to pull up quotes. It also is known as the “inside” market. It displays the best bid (the price at which a security may be sold) and the best ask (the price at which a security may be bought) available. The difference is known as the bid/ask spread, which is determined by market makers who post quotes through an exchange (see Exhibit 3). Because an ETF generally is a single security that represents a portfolio of securities, the pricing of its underlying securities substantiates its value. In effect, an ETF’s price only moves as much as the price of its underlying basket of securities, as published each day by the ETF sponsor.
ETFs trade on exchanges continuously throughout the day, much like single stocks. Unlike stocks, however, the number of ETF shares outstanding may rise or decline because of a unique creation and redemption process. It allows an ETF to trade significantly more shares than the exchange ADV statistics reveal. (The creation and redemption process is discussed further in the section entitled Level Three.)
Level Two
National Best Bid Offer quotations are constructed from the best bid and ask with the largest size, available from market makers who post quotes through an exchange. However, the depth of the ETF marketplace isn’t reflected in the NBBO. ETF quotes from market makers often have higher ask and lower bid prices with larger size than those shown on NBBO. You can access these quotes through relationships with market makers (also known as liquidity providers), through subscription access via a quote system, or through a custodian trade desk. Trading firms may choose to assume positional or proprietary trading risk for ETFs and other securities. A lead market maker for specific securities must post all day long a two-sided quote, which is a firm bid price and a firm ask price that it’s willing to honor. Other market makers have the option of showing two-sided or one-sided quotes as needed, or showing nothing at all. For a large order, contact a block desk. Block desks are staffed with trained professionals who will help determine how best to execute a large trade (see section entitled Execution Matters). EXHIBIT 3: NATIONAL BEST BID OFFER FOR TDTT, A FLEXSHARES ETF The National Best Bid Offer price quotations reflect the bid/ask spread as determined by market makers, who post prices through an exchange. Any quote not highlighted in yellow represents additional quotes behind the NBBO. This example shows the market depth for FlexShares iBoxx 3-Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund (TDTT).
Level Three
The primary market for ETFs emerges through the creation and redemption process, referenced earlier, which makes ETFs open-ended. In a creation transaction, an authorized participant, or AP – a market maker or a large trading firm that handles all aspects of client activity itself – assembles a portfolio or basket of securities that comprises the ETF unit. Typically, the portfolio involves 50,000 or 100,000 shares as determined by the ETF sponsor. The AP then turns the basket over to an ETF custodian. In exchange for the basket of securities, the ETF custodian provides shares of the ETF to the AP at the net asset value. In a redemption transaction, the process works in reverse.
Because of the creation and redemption process (Exhibit 4), an ETF’s market price doesn’t shift far from the value of the underlying securities, also known as the “intrinsic value.” Arbitrage opportunity provides an incentive to trading firms to exploit pricing differentials. Since these firms can create ETF shares, the ETF’s price aligns with its intrinsic value. Essentially, the creation and redemption process facilitates a pricing discipline for any ETF, based on its underlying holdings.
ETF TRADING IMPLICATIONS
Spread – again, the difference between the bid and ask price of a security or asset – is an important consideration when choosing between and trading ETFs. It can meaningfully impact the cost of investment and, consequently, an investor’s potential total return. Cost of Investment Closely examine the cents-per-share spread when evaluating the overall cost of purchasing an ETF. It may appear wise, for example, to buy an ETF with a one-cent spread rather than another with a five-cent spread. However, a one-cent spread on a $10 ETF equals 10 basis points, while a five-cent spread on a $75 ETF equals 6.7 basis points. From this perspective, the $75 ETF has a tighter spread. Potential Total Return The spread affects the long-term performance of an ETF. Suppose you are examining ETFs with similar share prices of about $36. At a one-cent spread, the ETF could be quoted at 36.42-36.43 (bid-ask).
Now assume an order was entered that caused a 10-cent spread (36.38-36.48 bid-ask)
Time horizon and the investment strategy also can affect the spread:
When buying or selling larger numbers of ETF shares, the ask tends to move up and the bid tends to move down. The price will move closer to the value of the underlying securities as the number of shares approaches the creation unit size.
EXECUTION MATTERS
Now let’s examine how to determine the appropriate trading strategy for a specific ETF, given market conditions. For example, assume that, based on a client’s investment objectives, you purchase 30,000 shares of FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund (QDF).
Employing the First Level of Liquidity (Secondary Market) First, you must ask: Are there enough shares of QDF available for purchase or sale at the bid or ask price for this trade?
Employing the Second Level of Liquidity (Market Depth)
A block desk or liquidity provider becomes a key resource in executing large trades because of the ability to access the market depth of each security. The block desk will ask whether you want a block order or desire to break the trade up. Furthermore, you will need to determine whether to give the broker or floor trader the discretion to determine the time and price.
The block desk or liquidity provider offers advice or instructions on how to best execute the trade. For instance, consider the decision whether to enter an order in one block or break it into parts. If you favor breaking up the trade, one option is to use a volume-weighted average price. That price is calculated by adding the dollars traded for every transaction (price multiplied by number of shares traded), then dividing by the total shares traded for the day.
Employing the Third Level of Liquidity (Primary Market) If you cannot break up the order, other choices are available, including:
Potentially, execution of a block trade offers investors access to the creation and redemption process. The block desk or liquidity provider will determine the best way to execute the trade, which, depending on the firm’s size and inventory, may cause a creation and redemption. Note that not all large trades trigger a creation or redemption, but this process helps ensure that investors pay a fair price without moving the market.
TIMING IS ALSO IMPORTANT
U.S.-based ETFs trade well during U.S. market hours, while European-based ETFs trade better when European markets are open (before noon Eastern Time). Pacific-based ETFs trade well in the afternoon as their market open draws near. You should avoid trading for the first 15 minutes of the market open, which is when all of the underlying securities have opened and prices have been established. The last five minutes before the market close also should be avoided because it becomes more expensive for liquidity providers to hedge securities late in the day, giving them less incentive to execute large trades.
HOW ETFS CAN HELP
ETFs are powerful tools that can be used to address a number of financial and investment challenges, including:
As you determine which ETFs best meet your clients’ needs and objectives, bear in mind ETF liquidity and trading. This will help you better maximize opportunities and optimize trades at the best possible price in order to gain potentially higher total returns.
HOW FLEXSHARES CAN HELP
Our Capital Markets team offers expertise to help you trade in a cost-efficient manner. We can provide you with insights, answer questions and recommend trading strategies.
We strive to keep spreads down by:
We can also assist with trades by:
Learn more about FlexShares here .