Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange has struck a deal to acquire a set of fixed-income indices from Bank of America Merrill Lynch — the latest sign of exchanges putting a wager on the continued growth of passive investing.

The acquisition will take the assets under management benchmarked against ICE's combined fixed-income index business to nearly $1tn, according to a statement on Thursday. The acquired business comprises more than 5,000 fixed income, currency and commodity indices.