Today, global financial markets play a key role in improving the efficiency of the global economic system, as they facilitate the rapid redistribution of financial resources at the global level and help direct investments to certain regions and types of economic activity. The purpose of the paper is to study the development of innovative financial instruments and determine their impact on global financial markets. According to this goal, the study has the following tasks: to reveal the essence and components of the global financial market, to determine their role in global financial markets, to develop a classification of innovative financial instruments traded in the financial market, and to propose a periodization of the development of innovative financial instruments. The study was conducted using general scientific methods of cognition. A critical analysis of scientific papers and other sources related to the development of innovative financial instruments and their impact on global financial markets was conducted. Inductive and deductive methods were used to systematize innovative financial instruments in the economic environment over a certain period. Data from various sources were summarized, classified and analyzed to identify patterns of development of innovative financial instruments. The study addresses the relevance of the topic through a number of specific issues, namely: the relationship between financial instruments and the competitiveness of enterprises in financial markets, the development of modern financial technologies, and global financial integration. The object of the study is the global financial market, which operates under conditions of uncertainty and variability. The subject of the study is innovative financial instruments traded in global financial markets. It has been determined that the current economic literature is full of theoretical and empirical data proving that the introduction of innovations in the financial sector has a positive impact on the dynamics of financial markets. It has also been determined that there is some confusion as to which instruments should be classified as "innovative" financial instruments. The study developed a classification of types of innovative financial instruments and offered its own view on the stages of development and formation of innovative financial instruments.