Blogs

The US ecosystem for swap execution facilities continues to evolve, but not as rapidly as regulators and lawmakers anticipated. Despite the shift to electronic trading, some observers question if swaps trading has reached a new equilibrium. The vision of a buy-side trader sitting in front of a screen with the ability to anonymously click on streaming prices from multiple SEFs could be several years away. However, new liquidity providers could be catalysts for change in market structure, suggested speakers at a recent webinar.

The regulatory overhaul of the OTC derivatives market has brought mandatory clearing and electronic trading to standardized swaps, but many say the market structure is stuck, citing regulatory ambiguity and separate liquidity pools.

MiFID II is going to boost transparency in financial markets and improve and broaden best execution standards for the buy side, but not everyone is prepared to handle all the data. While MIFID II standards go into force as of January 3, 2017, buy side market participants have suggested there is not enough time to prepare for the technology changes.

By Ivy Schmerken, Editorial Director Primary Challenges Traders seeking an edge in multi-leg options trades are relying on technology to navigate a complex market structure. One major challenge is that there is no linkage with regards to complex order books spread across seven US options exchange.  Hence, it’s very important to scan all the exchanges …

As multi-leg options strategies gain traction on the buy- and sell-side, sophisticated front-end tools are essential for accessing complex order books at US options exchanges. Multi-leg orders have been around a long time, but in recent years they have moved from the trading floors to electronic systems. A complex order (or spread trade) allows an …

Corporate Bonds By Ivy Schmerken, Editorial Director Electronic bond trading is in the spotlight as traders and investors focus on a potential liquidity crunch in the U.S. corporate bond market, setting the stage for an influx of fixed income trading platforms to match buyers and sellers. As dealers have pulled back from risk-taking, market participants …