The company wants to expand beyond its established expertise in ETFs into structured products.
Founded in 2005, Indxx delivers index solutions to the investment management community at large. These range from end-to end indexing services to data and technology products.
Quality is paramount to everything we do - from data to intellectual property and calculations - Jan de Smedt
SRP caught up with Jan de Smedt, ex-S&P DJI and ex-ICAP, who joined Indxx earlier this year as regional head of sales UK and Europe to expand the company’s offering into the structured products market, and Paul Starkey, chief revenue officer, to discuss the firm’s ambitions.
“Innovation is at our core,” de Smedt said. “Our product development team is constantly generating new ideas.”
This approach, according to him, will fit well in the structured product market where client focus means “being proactive, precise, and attentive to their needs”.
“Quality is paramount to everything we do – from data to intellectual property and calculations,” he said. “Timeliness is about delivering high-quality work at the right pace. Speed is important: we may not be the fastest, but we never compromise on quality.”
These concepts, which form the foundation of Indxx’s operations in the marketplace will resonate in the structured products market, de Smedt believes.
Roadmap
The company’s growth roadmap includes a strategic push into structured products where de Smedt sees opportunities.
“Part of my mandate is to take the company beyond our established expertise in ETFs and expand into structured products, where we see significant potential,” he said. “Clients in this space value partners who bring both innovation and stability.”
According to de Smedt (right), trust and strong relationships are crucial in the structured products market – that’s where his network and experience come into play.
Indxx is already in discussions with top-tier investment banks to launch decrement and volatility-controlled indices.
“We are currently developing a customised version of the Indxx Europe Defense Decrement Index for the structuring desk of a top-tier global investment bank,” said de Smedt. “The customisation will result in the inclusion of cybersecurity stocks as well as industries who are adopters of AI and will be offered to French institutional investors.”
The company’s goal is to replicate a flexible and client-centric approach in the structured products market.
Starkey highlighted the growing demand for thematic and innovative indices.
Clients want products with unique stories, something beyond the S&P 500 or FTSE 100 - Paul Starkey
“Clients want products with unique stories, something beyond the S&P 500 or FTSE 100. Thematic indices with narratives resonate better with investors,” he told SRP. “Technology plays a huge role. We’re using AI not only in calculations but also to creating unique data sets.”
For example, one of the most recent additions to the company’s catalogue - a ‘Built in America’ index - would have been a real challenge in the past as traditional data was unavailable.
“We’re also embracing digitisation and tokenisation of assets, seeing every client conversation as a potential partnership,” said Starkey.
Flagship indices
Starkey (pictured below) spotlighted some of the company’s flagship products which have a strong thematic profile including AI, robotics and critical metals, but also Bitcoin reference indices, and crypto ecosystem products.
Among the company’s indices are the Indxx US Infrastructure Development Index, which has US$9 billion in assets under management (AuM); Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index (US$4.1 billion AuM); Indxx Global Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index (US$2.9 billion AuM); and Indxx US Tech Top 10 Index (US$1.4B AuM).
“Some of our indices have up to US$9 billion in AuM and we continue to work with partners like Grayscale, First Trust and Global X to deploy our indices across new products,” he said, adding that the increasing demand for thematic exposures in the structured products market is an opportunity for specialist providers.
“Investors want indices with a compelling story aligned with their views,” he said. “This narrative-driven approach helps with sales and distribution. Traditional indices still dominate, but thematic and innovative products are clearly gaining ground.”
Talking about the competitive landscape and how to establish Indxx in the structured products market, Starkey noted that the company has a unique approach to data and classification.
“It’s not just technology or data – most companies have similar resources,” he said. “Our proprietary ITICS classification system breaks down companies by revenue streams to create ‘pure play’ indices.”
“For example, a health tech index includes companies weighted by actual health tech revenue, giving clients a much more targeted exposure.”
Other drivers of growth for the company includes geographic expansion with new offices in London, Israel, South Korea and further growth in the US market.
“The rise of 24-hour trading demanding continuous market access is pushing the market towards the adoption of digital assets and tokenization as well as the integration of AI which will help to break down traditional data boundaries,” he said.
“We’re positioning ourselves to lead as the industry evolves and some competitors fall behind.”
Looking ahead, Starkey shared some of the key priorities at Indxx including a focus on expanding into the digital asset ecosystem, partnering with both crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions.
“We’re developing our own risk control models which are currently being tested by large clients” he said. “Major industry trends like AI, digital assets, and round-the-clock trading will shape growth.
“We want to leverage our capabilities to deliver innovation, as well as our global reach and trusted relationships to capitalise on evolving market dynamics and meet client needs in indexing and structured products.”
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