{"url":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants","section":"methodology","title":"Authorized participants (APs) methodology | ETFIQ","description":"How ETFIQ lists every ETF authorized participant (AP) and lead market maker (LMM) from Form N-CEN, and what each term means.","as_of":"Sep 23, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"DefinedTerm","name":"authorized participant","alternateName":["AP","authorised participant"],"description":"A broker-dealer that has an agreement with an ETF to create new shares by delivering a basket of securities or cash to the fund, and to redeem shares by handing them back.","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants#glossary"},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","name":"lead market maker","alternateName":["LMM"],"description":"The market maker a listing exchange assigns to an ETF to keep a bid and an ask on the exchange through the trading day, under that exchange\u2019s quoting rules.","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants#glossary"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Methodology","item":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Authorized participants","item":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Authorized participants (APs) methodology","description":"How ETFIQ lists every ETF authorized participant (AP) and lead market maker (LMM) from Form N-CEN, and what each term means.","url":"https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants","dateModified":"2026-10-22","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":4471,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Methodology / Authorized participants \n On this page\n Scope Sources Definitions and method What this cannot tell you How to check any of this \n This specification describes the data as published on Sep 23, 2026 , covering 3806 funds. Rebuilt every trading night.\n Authorized participants (APs) methodology\n How ETFIQ lists every ETF authorized participant (AP): 75,056 rows of 3,806 ETFs\u2019 latest Form N-CEN, in Form N-CEN periods ending Jul 31, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026, grouped into 74 firms by identifier.\n 3,806 Funds covered \n Sep 23, 2026 Figures as of \n Nightly Rebuilt from the raw sources \n\n Scope\n Every US ETF ETFIQ covers whose latest Form N-CEN ETFIQ can attribute to it by its SEC series id and ticker, 3,806 funds. Grantor trusts (spot bitcoin, ether, gold and silver funds), commodity pools and ETNs file no N-CEN and are not covered. A fund too new for its first N-CEN is not covered until it files.\n Sources\n Every source behind these figures, what it provides, and how often it is read Source What it provides Read Spec \n SEC Form N-CEN data sets Every AP row: name, SEC file number, CRD , LEI, dollars created and redeemed Quarterly, read nightly document \n Form N-CEN, item E.2 What each AP field means As published document \n SEC list of active broker-dealers Each firm\u2019s registered name, by SEC file number Monthly document \n\n Definitions and method\n Authorized participant (AP) A broker-dealer with an agreement with an ETF to create new shares, by delivering a basket of securities or cash to the fund, and to redeem shares, by handing them back for the basket. APs are listed in item E.2 of each fund\u2019s Form N-CEN. Lead market maker (LMM) The market maker a listing exchange assigns to an ETF to quote a bid and an ask through the trading day, under the exchange\u2019s rules. An LMM need not be an AP. ETFIQ lists LMMs only where an exchange publishes them. Created and redeemed The dollar value of the fund\u2019s shares the AP purchased from the fund (created) and redeemed in the fund\u2019s reporting period, as the fund filed them. Active AP An AP that created or redeemed any shares in the period. A fund lists APs that did neither too. Only active AP A fund in which one AP created or redeemed shares and every other listed AP did neither. Share of a fund\u2019s AP dollars What one AP created plus redeemed, as a percent of what all the fund\u2019s APs created plus redeemed. One firm Rows are grouped by the CRD number they carry. A row joins another firm only where its SEC file number and LEI both belong to that firm, or where its CRD appears in one registrant\u2019s filings only and another identifier places it. An LEI whose check digits fail is not used. A name never groups rows. 71 of 75,056 rows were moved this way, and every one is listed in dealers-identity.json . Periods Each fund\u2019s N-CEN covers its own fiscal year, or less where it says so. A firm\u2019s total adds periods that end on different days. Tonight they end Jul 31, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. What this cannot tell you\n Who will create or redeem tomorrow. An AP agreement does not oblige a firm to act.\n How a firm compares with another on quality. The figures are dollars, not a rating.\n Activity after a fund\u2019s period ends. A new N-CEN arrives once a year per fund.\n The directory: every ETF authorized participant .\n How to check any of this\n Every published figure is free as JSON on the open data page . Use ETFIQ's figures with attribution and the as-of date. Issuer data stays under its owner's terms. Independent code recomputes every number nightly from the raw sources, and the statistics page shows the result. Errors are listed on the corrections page .\n A figure marked ETFIQ is one ETFIQ computed. Every other figure is the issuer\u2019s or the exchange\u2019s, and is labeled that way.\n\n Cite this page. ETFIQ, Authorized participants (APs) methodology, data as of Sep 23, 2026. https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, Authorized participants (APs) methodology, data as of Sep 23, 2026. https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants APA ETFIQ. (Sep 23, 2026). Authorized participants (APs) methodology. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants Markdown [Authorized participants (APs) methodology (ETFIQ, Sep 23, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants)","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, Authorized participants (APs) methodology, data as of Sep 23, 2026. https://etfiq.com/methodology/authorized-participants"}