Event

Index Disruption: The Promise and Pitfalls of Self-Indexed ETFs

  • Wed 3 Dec 25

    13:00 - 14:15

  • Online

    Zoom (email for link)

  • Event speaker

    Bige Kahraman, University of Oxford

  • Event type

    Lectures, talks and seminars

  • Event organiser

    Essex Finance Centre

  • Contact details

    Dr Mehmet Furkan Karaca

The Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) warmly invites you to join the research seminar with Dr Bige Kahraman from the Said Business School, University of Oxford.

The rise of self-indexed ETFs, funds tracking indices created by their own issuers (or affiliates), marks a shift from the traditional model of index provision dominated by external providers.

This study evaluates how this practice shapes the landscape of ETF investing. Contrary to predictions of fee competition and increased portfolio differentiation, we find that self-indexed ETFs sponsored by issuers who are also investment advisors feature higher fees, exhibit more portfolio similarity, and deliver no performance gains compared to peers. Further analyses support a self-preferencing interpretation within a search-cost framework, where these issuers promote their own higher-fee products. Self-indexed ETFs from other issuers, however, are associated with greater portfolio differentiation at comparable fees.

Speaker

Dr Bige Kahraman is an Associate Professor of Financial Economics at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Kellogg College at the University of Oxford. She is a Research Affiliate in the Financial Economics programme of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).

From 2017 to 2020, she was an Economic Advisor to the Financial Conduct Authority. She holds PhD in Economics from Yale University with specialisations in financial markets and econometrics. Her research interests are financial stability, asset management, and sustainability. She regularly publishes in top-tier academic journals and engages with policy makers (such as the FED, SEC, IOSCO, and Bank of England) and practitioners. Her work has been selected as a ‘Must Read' by top academic journals, and she frequently shares her expertise with the media. Her recent work has been cited by the business press such as the Financial Times, Bloomberg, CBS News as well as in a variety of policy documents by supranational institutions (IMF, Bank of International Settlements).