New 2021-2025 trade data highlights accelerating institutional participation, record volumes, and sustained momentum across asset classes
Press release: 27 January, 2025: Asset managers are playing an increasingly central role in the global trade finance market, according to newly released, first-of-its-kind industry benchmarking data from leading digital trade finance provider LiquidX. The data shows the company’s transaction volumes growing by over 48%, representing a surge in trade finance transactions over the past four years.
The data, based on more than $120 billion in trade finance transactions processed since inception, including over $90 billion in the past five years alone, reveal a sustained expansion in both total trade volumes and asset manager participation, highlighting the sector’s evolution from a niche alternative investment to a core institutional allocation.
LiquidX’s total annual trade volumes reached $27.2 billion in 2025, up from $25.1 billion in 2024, representing an 8% year-over-year increase. Momentum accelerated in the first half of 2025, with volumes rising 14% year over year, pointing to continued growth despite broader market volatility.
Asset managers now account for approximately 26% of total trade finance volume, up significantly from their share in 2021.
“As asset managers, working capital finance offers short-duration, low-volatility exposure with attractive diversification,” said Guy Brooks, Managing Director, Working Capital Finance, Pemberton Asset Management. “The global trade finance gap exceeds $2.5 trillion, driven by bank retrenchment and new regulatory constraints.
With working capital finance, typical maturities range from 90 to 180 days, with annualized returns between 2% and 5%+ over base, and historic market data showing default rates below 0.5%. This makes it a compelling alternative to traditional fixed income, especially in volatile or rising-rate environments.”
This steady increase in asset manager volume reflects growing institutional confidence in trade finance as a source of diversified yield, supported by short durations, self-liquidating structures, and improving data transparency. LiquidX anticipates this trend to extend globally, especially in Europe, where the company’s personnel are based in continental Europe and out of London, in partnership with Broadridge Financial Solutions.
The data also shows continued strength in receivables-based financing, which accounted for 86% of total trade finance volume throughout the period, highlighting the durability of accounts receivable as the dominant structure for market growth.
At the same time, white-label trade finance activity grew from $19.6 billion in 2024 to $22.9 billion in 2025, a 16% increase that reflects rising demand from banks and platforms seeking scalable distribution models and partnerships.
Industrials and energy lead growth in trade finance
The inaugural report, which establishes the first benchmarking analysis of its kind in the trade finance industry, also highlights striking sector growth and structural shifts in the company’s activity.
Sector diversification remains a defining feature of the market’s expansion. The data shows that industrials and energy, which saw outsized growth earlier in the cycle, continue to represent meaningful portions of overall volume as trade finance extends deeper into capital-intensive supply chains. High-yield transactions have grown at a faster rate than investment-grade activity, while investment-grade volumes have remained stable in absolute terms, reinforcing trade finance’s appeal across multiple risk profiles.
With quarterly volumes now supported by multi-year benchmarking, LiquidX’s data suggests that institutional participation in trade finance is entering its next phase, defined less by experimentation and more by long-term allocation strategies. As market participants look ahead, continued reporting will focus on participation mix, duration trends, and the evolving role of institutional capital in supporting global trade flows.
With quarterly updates from LiquidX planned from 2026, Dominic Capolongo, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), LiquidX, comments: “This is the first time we’ve made our data public, and we are delighted to have taken this step. It has revealed a fascinating series of insights into the overall state, health, and growth of the trade finance sector – and we’ll be building on this with regular updates.
Institutional investors further validate rising asset manager participation
The rise in asset manager participation reflects growing demand for counterparties that can deliver institutional scale and reliability; a point echoed by market participants.
Casey Talbot, CIO, Credit, Jain Global, comments: “Origination and servicing are important components for working capital strategies. We value counterparties who can and do provide institutional scale and support and have robust infrastructure and capital support.”
Caitlin Connolly, Vice President, Buy Side Sales, North America, Broadridge – LiquidX’s largest committed investor and strategic operational services provider – adds: “This data shows just how quickly asset managers are embracing trade finance as part of their investment strategies. By partnering with LiquidX, we’re helping provide the scale and operational resilience needed to support that growth and open the market to more institutional investors.”
How LiquidX supports various organizations in the trade finance sector
How Asset Managers Are Using LiquidX to Scale Trade Finance Operations & Profits
Why Global Banks Rely on LiquidX for Trade Finance Software
Regional Banks Rely on LiquidX for Trade Finance Software
Whether you need one module or an end-to-end solution, we have you covered, and we can have you up and running in weeks, not months:
- Trade: Automatically digitizes assets in the front office.
- TradeHub: Manages portfolio risk with ease.
- TradeOps: Make significant back office savings; up to 50% savings compared to in-house back office software.
- InMatch: Can handle reconciliation challenges for asset managers.
- Trade finance software that can take in any invoice format (e.g., XLSX, PDF, etc.), and use that as workable data downstream across the trade lifecycle.
- Includes the advantages of a deep partnership with Broadridge (NYSE: BR), a trusted global fintech leader. Broadridge is LiquidX’s largest committed investor and strategic operational services provider for payment processing, account reconciliation, and global operational scalability.
Banks and asset managers: To request a demo of our trade finance distribution solutions, click here.
About LiquidX
LiquidX is a market-leading, award-winning FinTech SaaS company in the trade finance space.
Founded in 2016, LiquidX is a leading global technology company that enables finance professionals to transact more efficiently by digitizing their trade finance and working capital management.
Since fiscal year (FY) 2021, over $76 billion of trade finance transactions have been processed through our technology for global and regional banks and asset managers.
Headquartered in New York with offices across the globe, we deliver the industry-leading ecosystem for working capital optimization to our diverse network of global participants, including corporations, banks, and institutional investors.
LiquidX’s technology greatly enhances transparency, reporting, and forecasting for financial professionals.
For more information about LiquidX, visit: https://www.liquidx.com/newsroom/
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