CDRs: A Smarter Way to Trade Global Stocks in CAD
- CDRs allow Canadian investors to trade global stocks like Apple and Microsoft in CAD on Canadian exchanges, with built-in FX hedging and fractional ownership capabilities.
- CDR adoption has grown rapidly since their 2021 introduction, with Q1 2024 average daily notional traded volume exceeding $140 million CAD, a 75% quarter-over-quarter increase.
- The market is expanding through new entrants like BMO and broader offerings from CIBC, which alone lists 86 CDRs spanning four countries as of February 2025.
- The Montreal Exchange launched options on 10 CIBC CDRs in March 2025, enabling more sophisticated hedging and trading strategies while improving market liquidity and price discovery.
- Horizon Trading Solutions positions its market-making technology as essential infrastructure for CDR and derivatives liquidity, offering automated quoting, low-latency execution, and multi-asset support for financial institutions.
CDRs have gained popularity, offering investors a simplified way to gain exposure to international equities without dealing with foreign exchange risk. Here’s why they are an attractive investment vehicle:
- Trade global stocks in CAD – Investors can buy international companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google directly on a Canadian exchange.
- Built-in FX hedging – Minimizes currency fluctuations, providing more predictable returns.
- Fractional ownership – Investors can purchase a fraction of an expensive stock, making it easier to diversify portfolios.
With growing adoption, market makers play a crucial role in providing liquidity for CDRs and their related derivatives. This is where Horizon Trading Solutions’ market-making technology becomes essential.
CDRs: A Rapidly Expanding Market
As of March 2025, CDRs have seen significant adoption since their introduction in 2021. Here are some key indicators of their growth:
- Trading Volume: In Q1 2024, CDRs recorded an average daily notional traded volume of over $140 million CAD, marking a 75% increase quarter-over-quarter.
- Expansion of Offerings: As of February 2025, CIBC alone offers 86 CDRs spanning four countries, showcasing increasing market demand.
- New Entrants: BMO launched its first CDRs in February 2025, targeting German, Swiss, and Japanese markets.
- Options on CDRs: The Montreal Exchange (MX) launched options on 10 CIBC CDRs in March 2025, highlighting further market maturation.
- Exchange Growth: CDRs are listed on Cboe Canada, which facilitates 15% of all volume traded in Canadian listed securities.
This rapid expansion, alongside increasing involvement from major banks and the introduction of derivative products, underscores the importance of CDRs as a key component of the Canadian investment landscape.
Options on CDRs: Expanding Trading Strategies
As CDRs gain traction, the introduction of options on CDRs—traded on the Montreal Exchange (MX)—adds another layer of opportunity for traders:
- Hedging opportunities – Investors can use options to hedge their exposure to global stocks.
- Trading strategies – Options allow traders to apply various strategies designed to capitalize on changes of the underlying asset’s characteristics such as volatility or price.
- Increased market efficiency – The ability to trade both CDRs and their derivatives improves market liquidity and price discovery.
Why Horizon? Market Making Expertise Beyond CDRs
While CDRs are an exciting development, Horizon Trading Solutions’ expertise in market making extends far beyond this single asset class. Our advanced technology stack supports a wide range of financial instruments, making us a trusted partner for financial institutions worldwide.
For Market Makers: Expertise Across Asset Classes
- Quote with confidence – Our automated quoting and hedging tools ensure precision across equities, derivatives, FX, and digital assets.
- Optimize liquidity provision – Benefit from low-latency trading technology designed for today’s high-speed markets.
- Regulatory-ready solutions – Stay compliant with a flexible, customizable market-making platform tailored to your needs.
With years of experience in market making, Horizon Trading Solutions helps institutions navigate complex trading environments, ensuring seamless execution and risk management.
Horizon: Powering the Future of Market Making
Market making is evolving rapidly, and financial institutions need the right technology to stay competitive. Whether you’re looking to enhance CDR trading, optimize derivatives strategies, or expand into multi-asset market making, Horizon Trading Solutions delivers:
A high-performance, customizable trading platform
Advanced automation for quoting, hedging, and execution
Proven expertise across equities, FX, digital assets, and derivatives.
Ready to elevate your market-making capabilities? Contact Horizon Trading Solutions today to discover how we can help you thrive in an increasingly complex trading landscape.
Boost Your Trading Performance with Horizon Trading Solutions
Horizon is more than just a technology provider—we are a trusted partner in market making, execution management, and trading innovation. If your firm is looking to stay ahead in global equities and derivatives trading get in touch to learn how we can help.
Contact us to learn more about our trading solutions!
Frequently Asked Questions
CDRs (Canadian Depositary Receipts) allow investors to trade global stocks like Apple, Microsoft, and Google directly on a Canadian exchange in CAD. They feature built-in FX hedging to minimize currency fluctuations and offer fractional ownership, making it easier to diversify portfolios with expensive international equities.
The CDR market has expanded rapidly since its 2021 introduction. In Q1 2024, CDRs recorded an average daily notional traded volume exceeding $140 million CAD—a 75% quarter-over-quarter increase—while new issuers like BMO entered the market in 2025 and CIBC alone offers 86 CDRs spanning four countries.
Yes, the Montreal Exchange (MX) launched options on 10 CIBC CDRs in March 2025. These options enable investors to hedge global stock exposure, deploy advanced trading strategies based on volatility or price movements, and contribute to improved market liquidity and price discovery.
Market makers play a crucial role in providing liquidity for CDRs and their related derivatives, ensuring seamless execution and efficient price discovery. As the CDR market rapidly expands with new listings and options products, advanced market-making technology becomes essential to support growing trading volumes.
Horizon Trading Solutions provides a high-performance, customizable trading platform with automated quoting, hedging, and execution tools designed for low-latency environments. Their technology supports multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, FX, and digital assets, along with regulatory-ready solutions tailored for institutional market makers.
