The exchange-traded fund industry has become one of the fastest-growing segments of asset management globally. According to ETFGI's 2025 Global ETF Report, global ETF assets surpassed $14 trillion in 2025, with U.S.-listed ETFs accounting for more than $10 trillion of that total. New ETF launches continue at a rapid pace—with hundreds of new funds registered with the SEC each year—driven by active ETF conversions, thematic product launches, and the expansion of semi-transparent and fully transparent active strategies.
For ETF managers and fund companies, this growth generates increasing operational complexity. Each new fund launch adds to the administrative load: fund administration coordination, authorized participant (AP) relationship management, fee billing, regulatory filings, and investor communications all multiply with fund count. Virtual assistants (VAs) are helping ETF companies manage this load efficiently.
The ETF Operations Stack
ETF operations involve a distinct set of relationships and workflows. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs create and redeem shares through authorized participants who exchange baskets of securities for fund shares in the primary market. This creation/redemption mechanism requires daily portfolio composition disclosure, basket file coordination, and AP relationship management—all on top of standard fund administration, compliance, and investor relations functions.
A 2024 Citi ETF Services report found that ETF managers with fewer than $5 billion in assets under management across their product range spent an average of 62 basis points of revenue on operations and compliance costs. Reducing that figure through efficient administrative support is a direct competitive advantage.
Investor Billing and Fee Administration
ETF companies charge management fees—expressed as the fund's expense ratio—that are accrued daily and reflected in the fund's NAV calculation. While the fund administrator handles the mechanical accrual, the ETF manager must maintain accurate records of management fee arrangements, expense waivers, and voluntary fee caps. VAs support this function by tracking fee arrangements across multiple funds, preparing fee accrual summaries for finance review, maintaining records of waiver commitments and their expiration dates, and coordinating with fund administrators on expense allocation questions.
"We manage 12 ETFs and each has slightly different fee waiver arrangements," said the chief operating officer of a mid-size ETF manager. "Our VA keeps a master tracker updated and flags any approaching waiver expiration dates so we can make renewal decisions in advance."
VAs also support revenue tracking—monitoring management fee income against projections, preparing monthly revenue reports for management review, and coordinating with custodians on fee payment confirmations.
Fund Administration Coordination
ETF fund administration involves daily interaction with custodians, fund administrators, and index providers. VAs manage the coordination layer by tracking daily deliverable schedules, following up on outstanding items from service providers, organizing executed service agreements, and maintaining a central contacts database for all service provider relationships.
For ETF managers launching new funds, VAs support the pre-launch process by tracking regulatory filing timelines, coordinating with counsel on required documents, managing the distribution of draft documents to service providers, and preparing closing checklists for fund launch day.
According to a 2025 survey by Brown Brothers Harriman's ETF Services team, ETF managers who implemented structured administrative coordination for fund launches completed the launch process an average of 19 days faster than those without dedicated coordination support.
Authorized Participant and Investor Communications
Authorized participants—typically large broker-dealers and market makers—are the engine of ETF liquidity. Maintaining clear, timely communication with APs is essential for smooth creation/redemption operations. VAs support AP communications by maintaining AP agreement records, distributing daily basket files and portfolio composition files, coordinating responses to AP operational questions, and managing contact updates as AP personnel changes occur.
For retail and institutional investors who access ETFs through exchanges and intermediaries, VAs manage investor relations communications: responding to standard product inquiries, distributing fund fact sheets and prospectus documents, maintaining the investor relations contact database, and coordinating shareholder meeting communications for ETFs that hold annual or special meetings.
"Our AP relationship management used to be entirely reactive," said the head of capital markets at a thematic ETF company. "Our VA now proactively sends basket file confirmations every morning and follows up on any delivery issues before the trading day opens."
SEC Compliance Documentation
ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 carry the same compliance documentation requirements as other registered investment companies—plus additional requirements specific to the ETF structure. Annual reports on Form N-CEN, semi-annual reports on Form N-CSR, Form 8-K filings for material events, and ongoing portfolio disclosure requirements under Rule 6c-11 all generate significant documentation activity.
VAs support compliance documentation by maintaining filing calendars, organizing document archives by fund and filing period, tracking Rule 6c-11 daily portfolio disclosure compliance, and preparing examination support packages. For ETF managers with exemptive relief orders from prior regulatory regimes, VAs also track the conditions attached to those orders.
Operating at Scale in a Competitive Market
The ETF market is increasingly competitive, with fee compression making operational efficiency a strategic priority for managers of all sizes. VAs offer a scalable, cost-efficient way to manage the administrative infrastructure of a growing ETF complex.
For ETF companies seeking experienced administrative support across fund operations and investor relations functions, firms like Stealth Agents provide trained VAs suited to financial services workflows. Learn more at https://www.stealthagents.com.
Sources
- ETFGI Global ETF Report, 2025
- Citi ETF Services, Operations Cost Study, 2024
- Brown Brothers Harriman ETF Services, Fund Launch Survey, 2025
- SEC Rule 6c-11, ETF operational requirements