Event contracts—financial instruments that allow participants to trade on the outcomes of real-world events—have surged in popularity in recent years. So far, event contracts have primarily traded directly on exchanges, via centralized systems that match buyers and sellers of individual contracts directly. But as demand to invest in prediction markets has grown, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that offer investor exposure to event contracts have begun to arise.
Three issuers initially filed registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for funds whose principal exposure is to event contracts traded on Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). None have launched: in May 2026, the ETF launches were delayed, and the SEC requested additional detail on product mechanics and disclosures. On June 30, 2026, the SEC announced a request for comment on “novel ETFs,” a category that includes funds holding event contracts.
In this article, coauthors Laurent Samuel, Gary Schmirer, Ross Askanazi, and Jerrod Attias describe what these products are, how their proposed structure differs from direct participation in an event contract market, and the regulatory questions the filings raise.
Washington
