Best Execution special report
Click here to download the PDF
The Next of Best
What will best execution mean to you by this time next year? This month marks my one-year anniversary with Waters and in that relatively short amount of time the world of best ex has evolved-thanks to changes in regulation and market structure. While I came over from the retail, non-tech, banking side of the financial services industry, even I can recognize change when I see it.
To varying degrees, best execution has been the target of regulators-and savvy traders alike-on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, Asian nations are grappling with the practice, most recently with India's regulatory body, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), finally introducing smart order-routing to the marketplace, though the markets there are less fragmented.
Yet, inside this Special Report you will see that it is not just regulation that is driving best execution technology upgrades. As Sybase's Jeff Wootton points out in his Open Platform on page 4, this sea change is thanks more to market complexity and the emergence of ever-increasing numbers of venues for trading. Hardly a day goes by that I don't receive an announcement about this or that firm adding connectivity to some new exchange.
As a result, smart-order routing (SOR) technology has taken on greater importance at firms looking to gain an advantage over their competitors. In a matter of a year or two, smart order-routers have rapidly morphed from simple liquidity finders to become tools that can predict the probability of advantageous executions based on existing parameters and previous execution data, and adapt to changing market conditions.
I recently spoke with Thomas Chippas of Deutsche Bank; Ruth Colagiuri, then at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML); and Jamil Nazarali at Knight Capital, each of whom is a major sell-side figurehead in the world of smart order-routing. They agree that putting a "Generation 2" or "Gen 2.1" tag on SORs is not appropriate, simply because this field of technology is improving so quickly (see Intelligent is the New Smart, Waters, April 2010).
It also must be noted that smart order-routing technology is just a piece of the best execution pie, as complex-event processing (CEP) has become a major buzzword throughout the industry. And finally, as Wootton points out in his Open Platform, as technology around best execution advances, so, too, will data requirements, which will create another headache-opportunity for advantageous trading shops.
As new geographies invest in routing technology; as rules geared toward best execution change; as new, sophisticated trading strategies take hold, firms on both the buy side and sell side will have to evolve with this market. So my asking, "What will best execution mean to you by this time next year?" isn't simply rhetorical. If you can't answer this question, then odds are that the market has already passed you by.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Trading Tech
After acquisitions, Exegy looks to consolidated offering for further gains
With Vela Trading Systems and Enyx now settled under one roof, the vendor’s strategy is to be a provider across the full trade lifecycle and flex its muscles in the world of FPGAs.
Enough with the ‘Bloomberg Killers’ already
Waters Wrap: Anthony interviews LSEG’s Dean Berry about the Workspace platform, and provides his own thoughts on how that platform and the Terminal have been portrayed over the last few months.
BofA deploys equities tech stack for e-FX
The bank is trying to get ahead of the pack with its new algo and e-FX offerings.
Pre- and post-trade TCA—why does it matter?
How CP+ powers TCA to deliver real-time insights and improve trade performance in complex markets.
Driving effective transaction cost analysis
How institutional investors can optimize their execution strategies through TCA, and the key role accurate benchmarks play in driving more effective TCA.
As NYSE moves toward overnight trading, can one ATS keep its lead?
An innovative approach to market data has helped Blue Ocean ATS become a back-end success story. But now it must contend with industry giants angling to take a piece of its pie.
BlackRock, BNY see T+1 success in industry collaboration, old frameworks
Industry testing and lessons from the last settlement change from T+3 to T+2 were some of the components that made the May transition run smoothly.
Banks seemingly build more than buy, but why?
Waters Wrap: A new report states that banks are increasingly enticed by the idea of building systems in-house, versus being locked into a long-term vendor contract. Anthony explores the reason for this shift.