Exchange Traded Products are one of the most efficient ways to offer regulated exposure to any asset class. Here is what they are, how they differ from ETFs, and why Switzerland leads the world in issuing them.

Most investors have heard of ETFs. Fewer understand that ETPs are an entirely different structure, and in many situations a more useful one. For asset managers looking to offer regulated, exchange-listed exposure to crypto, commodities, or thematic strategies without establishing a fund, the ETP is the instrument of choice. Switzerland, and SIX Swiss Exchange in particular, is the most developed market in the world for listing them.

An Exchange Traded Product is a collateralised debt security listed on a regulated stock exchange that tracks the price of an underlying asset. It trades like a share, settles through standard custody infrastructure, and gives investors straightforward access to markets that would otherwise require specialist accounts or technical infrastructure to reach. The underlying can be a single cryptocurrency, a basket of digital assets, a commodity, or a custom index. The investor simply buys and sells the ETP through their existing bank or broker.

What distinguishes an ETP from an ETF matters in practice. ETFs are collective investment schemes regulated under fund law and subject to strict diversification requirements. In Europe, the UCITS framework that governs most ETFs explicitly prohibits cryptocurrencies as underlying assets. ETPs are not collective investment schemes. They are structured as debt instruments, which means they fall outside the scope of collective investment legislation entirely and can reference virtually any underlying that the exchange approves. This structural difference is precisely why Switzerland has become Europe's home for crypto ETPs. SIX Swiss Exchange became the first regulated exchange in the world to permit crypto assets as ETP underlyings in 2018, and the market has grown substantially since then, with hundreds of products now listed and trading volume running into billions of Swiss francs annually.

The investor protection mechanism in a Swiss ETP is full collateralisation. Unlike an ETN, which is an unsecured note that exposes investors to issuer default risk, a Swiss ETP must be 100% backed by real assets or collateral held by an independent third party at all times. If an ETP tracks Bitcoin worth CHF 100 million, the issuer holds that value in Bitcoin as collateral. The collateral is segregated, held independently, and available to investors in the event of the issuer's insolvency. This structure delivers meaningful protection without requiring the full regulatory architecture of a fund.

For asset managers and product issuers, the ETP is an attractive distribution vehicle precisely because it slots into existing market infrastructure. There is no new onboarding for investors, no separate custody arrangement to establish, and no fund subscription process to manage. The ETP has its own ISIN, is priced continuously during trading hours, is supported by a market maker providing liquidity, and is visible on Bloomberg and standard data terminals. A product that might otherwise require a complex fund launch can be brought to market as an ETP in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost.

ISP structures and issues ETPs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange and BX Swiss, covering both traditional and digital asset underlyings. The process from mandate to listed product is efficient, and ISP manages the full issuance infrastructure including collateral custody, market maker coordination, and ongoing listing obligations. If you are considering bringing a product to market in this format, speak to Julia Hauser at ISP Group or read more about ETPs to learn more about what is possible.