Banks’ credit trading desks are reaping the rewards of a surge in portfolio and algorithmic trading activity, the latest sign of how technology is revolutionising the way corporate bond markets are traded to the benefit of a handful of mainly US banks.
Portfolio trades in US corporate bond markets increased by nearly 50% last year to US$321bn, according to estimates from Tradeweb, as a growing number of investors are buying and selling large blocks of bonds in one go.
The growth forms part of a broader shift towards electronic trading of corporate debt – a corner of finance that has been slower to adopt the kind of automated trading practices common in equity and currency markets.
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InvestX, an investment platform that empowers broker-dealers and advisors to invest and trade in pre-IPO companies through a centralized marketplace, appointed
Brian Schaeffer as Managing Director, Head of Business Development. A 20+ year capital markets veteran, Schaeffer was most recently Founder and President of Clearpool Group, an algorithmic trading platform that was purchased by Bank of Montreal in April 2020. He began his career from the ground up as a trading clerk, later becoming a top specialist on the New York Stock Exchange. He also worked as a TV analyst on CNBC before becoming CEO of Van der Moolen Capital Markets, one of the largest listed global trading and technology companies, which was sold to Lehman Brothers in 2007.
Citi names Derek Hafer as global head of spread products portfolio trading Toggle share menu
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15 Dec 2020 09:37PM Share this content
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REUTERS: Citigroup Inc appointed Derek Hafer as its global head of spread products portfolio trading on Tuesday, as the form of trade has gained significant popularity during the coronavirus-driven market volatility.
Portfolio trading involves the bundling of several bonds into a single package to trade.
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Advertisement Over the past 18 months, portfolio trading has grown rapidly in the flow credit markets and has become one of the major changes driving our industry. We expect this trend to continue, Citi said in a memo seen by Reuters.