Brought in to set up the firm’s fixed income desk was current head of trading and execution analytics, Kevin Flood, who joined RLAM with an extensive trading career previously under his belt, having already served for 15 years at Deutsche Bank. The fixed income offering at RLAM would be the second of its kind set up by Flood, after also being tasked with setting up a London based fixed income desk for DWS Group – Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm – in 2016. The desk was subsequently migrated to Frankfurt following Brexit, leading Flood to his current role at RLAM.

More recently though, RLAM’s trading team has undergone another revamp. Historically, the trading teams were siloed by asset class with separate equity and fixed income teams trading their own products alongside FX and derivatives. However, following another spate of change in the last year, RLAM’s trading team brought together these siloed divisions in favour of a centralised dealing desk with a pod structure. The desk now consists of three pods for equities, fixed income, and derivatives and foreign exchange.

“We now have the ability to move resources around within the team when we need to,” says Flood. “I’m not trying to make every single trader into a multi-asset trader and spread them across every asset class we trade. It’s too broad. Each trader has their specialism, but it allows for better coverage and consistency, and allows traders to get involved with asset classes that they may not deal with every single day.

“We have a very strong, talented desk. At the end of the day, they’re just really good traders.  They’re hungry and they’re aggressive and they want to get the best result every time for our clients. But they’re also curious and inquisitive around how we improve processes and deliver efficiencies for the business.”

Each pod is responsible for its own efficiency whether that be through improvements to its automation or workflows. This is something that the trading team tells The TRADE became especially prominent across pods in light of the recent US shift to T+1. London-based RLAM does not operate under a follow the sun model and has therefore had to rely on technology solutions to ensure orders are affirmed amid the shortened settlement cycle.

“We found that there was a process from one provider which was very useful and ticked all the boxes that we needed it to. When it comes to some of our overnight orders, we were able to get those to auto-match and allocate, which is what I think the regulator wants to see,” explains RLAM fixed income trader Ben Wheeler who was responsible for assessing solutions to the T+1 conundrum on the desk.

“Automation regarding the US market moving to T+1 is important given we have a presence in USD products. We are a UK firm and this limits the available hours to get trades matched and settled. Automation has been very important in credit more widely given we are an active manager. It has allowed us to efficiently execute low touch trades while spending more time on the high touch/high profile trades which have a higher contribution to our fund managers and ultimately clients’ alpha.” 

Wheeler has worn several hats in his career to date. Joining RLAM in 2022, he had already spent over a decade on the buy-side at AIG Asset Management rising up through the ranks to take up the reins as head of London public credit trading, simultaneously managing the execution and fund management. 

He sits in a pod of three in fixed income including himself, Flood and a soon to be new addition that has not yet been announced covering the credit and rates markets, exchange traded derivatives (ETD) and derivatives.

Execution analytics 

Now un-siloed, the RLAM trading desk has also been working on yet more recent changes to its structure but this time with a data focus. Seemingly never sitting still, the desk has redesigned itself as the trading and execution analytics team in the last year, refocusing its attentions on data as well as trading. 

The team tells The TRADE that through their renewed focus, they intend to leverage the plethora of data crossing the desk every day to create tools and data products that can be utilised both within the execution team and across the trade lifecycle in the wider institution.

“Initially what we’re really looking to do is aggregate and clean the data that’s coming into us. We will then store and disseminate it to the PMs in a meaningful way, be it in the means of either trading ideas, liquidity opportunities, or missed liquidity opportunities,” says Flood. 

“I see the trading desk as a conduit for the firm. We’re in a very enviable position in that we have a huge amount of data coming into us. Some of it in the form of more structured data like IOIs, axes, market data, TCA, pre- and post-trade execution data or more unstructured in the form of qualitative trader colour or market positioning. As a trading desk for an active asset manager, the exciting challenge is harnessing that data to feed it back into the investment process in a meaningful way.”

Central to the desk’s new identity are two elements: a newly streamlined system and a brand-new trading analyst. In December last year, RLAM streamlined its workflows through the migration from two separate order management systems (OMS) to BlackRock’s Aladdin.

“We had two order management systems. We have consolidated onto one platform and this has made communication a lot easier. It includes all data and data cloud in one place. It’s made our job as traders a lot easier to have all the data in one place,” says Mark Jenkins, senior derivatives trader at RLAM.

Jenkins has been on the RLAM trading desk since 2019, joining from abrdn – formerly Aberdeen Standard Investments – where he had been a senior derivatives trader. His speciality, he tells The TRADE, is FX rates and derivatives flow. His pod also includes William Knight who joined RLAM from Investec in 2013.

The rates environment globally has kept the pair busy in periods of volatility in recent months, something that Jenkins confirms he expects to continue. 

“The way the PMs have been looking to trade has changed. Historically, trading might have been fewer tickets but of larger size,” he says. “Now, we’re seeing an increase in the number of tickets but they are smaller in size due to volatility and not having to handle such a large position to get the alpha that you’re expecting from the positions. It’s an increase in tactical trading.”

New faces

The backbone of the desk’s new data-focused identity, however, is the addition of trading analyst Jennifer Cornell. Cornell joined the desk in April from Tradeweb where she had been working within its AiEX and workflow solutions business. Prior to joining Tradeweb, she had spent three months as a fixed income quant research intern at BlackRock.

“As a desk, we’ve always been data led. By bringing Jenny on board, we’re adding another string to that bow,” says Flood. “Part of being a buy-side trading desk is improving efficiencies, adding value and trying to add alpha. But as traders, we’re also very busy executing our flow, so having that additional resource sat on the desk who can continue to work on projects or develop code when we’re tied up means we can continue to move forward.

“All of the traders have ideas on the desk about how they would like to see and access data. Jenny can help with that. She can be our conduit between quant teams and internal tech teams.”

RLAM is in the process of centralising its data platform following the streamlining of its OMS. Just three months into her role, Cornell is now responsible for piecing together and cleaning data sourced in-house and from external sources in order to create new data-based tools to be used throughout the trading team and the wider RLAM organisation to quantify performance and improve on future strategies.

“Having all that internal and external data in one place allows us to better quantify the value add of the trading role,” says Cornell.  

“You can take into account not just the price they executed, but also how large the order was and the general liquidity at the time. Taking in all of these data points and contextualising the work that traders are doing helps to quantify the value add of their work. Rather than just looking at 2D pricing information across the day, once you’ve added these other dimensions of time and size, you get a much fuller picture of how good the trade was.

“They [traders] can use different tools for pre-trade analysis using various data sources that I put together for them. For example, looking at axe data or data on Mifid reporting which gives them transparency around liquidity or historic trading levels. My place in aiding the trading experience is around building the data solutions for the traders and PMs.”

Given the fixed income focus of her previous roles, Cornell will be focused on that area of the desk for the time being with plans to extend out into other asset classes in the future.

“Fixed income is such an opaque landscape,” she says. “There’s not a lot of transparency around a lot of that data, which makes it exciting because there’s so much that you can do to improve the process. There’s more room for progress.”

Data, data and more data

It’s unsurprising RLAM has opted for a data-led strategy going forwards. Data has become the lifeblood of the execution process. Each day brings with it new data sources and solutions that offer those willing to leverage them a chance to get the edge on their competitors. Meanwhile, regulators across the globe are undergoing changes to transparency regimes across asset classes which traders must take note of.

Given the cost of data and how transparent assets such as equities are in comparison with other asset classes – something only set to increase with the implementation of an equities consolidated tape – desks are increasingly looking to build out their own inhouse data capabilities in order to remove their reliance on third parties and reduce their market impact.

“There’s too much data and it can be used against you. The more we can build in house with people like Jennifer leading the way, the less reliant we are on broker provided data,” says senior RLAM equity trader Chris Hughes.

Hughes is one of the trading desk’s longest standing members of staff. Originally joining the then two-man setup in 2004, he took responsibility for equities trading in 2013. He began his career in the city in 1999 in a back-office settlements role. 

For him, having Cornell and increased data capabilities on the desk means the team will be able to build out its own pre-trade analysis tools such as inhouse market impact estimates that will give the desk and wider organisation an edge over its competitors. 

“That would be a really easy win because the market solutions can be misleading because they don’t know the motivation of what you’re doing,” he says. 

Europe is closer than it’s ever been before to implementing a consolidated tape for equities. Set to open in H1 of 2025, the tender process will decide on the provider of the tape with the aim of having something implemented by 2026. For Hughes, a consolidated and consistent data source in Europe and the UK will prove essential for trading strategies going forward – in particular the use of volume weighted algorithms. 

“Why are you using a VWAP strategy when volume is an unknown number or we’ve all got a different number for volume?” he implores. “The industry needs to embrace the consolidated tape. It’s going to be difficult because it’s not for profit.

“At the moment, the biggest problem is that not all machines are clever enough to read the tag for addressable vs non-addressable. On Bloomberg, you click a button and you can have a completely different volume number just by changing one filter. I’m hoping this [FCA post-trade flags changes] is the start of the clean-up and it finishes with the consolidated equity tape.

“We are pre-positioning ourselves via our data strategy with the help of Jennifer to be able to receive and utilise this cleaned up data.”

Nirvana 

The majority of RLAM’s equity trading flow doesn’t typically lend itself to an overly low touch execution model, the equity trading team tells The TRADE. Instead, they favour electronic methods to find mid-point block liquidity. 

“That’s the nirvana. What we’re trying to do is find that big block which isn’t available on the screen,” says Hughes.  “Lit liquidity is terrible, the spreads are tight but there’s nothing on them. There’s no point me buying 27 shares and moving it a penny. The Nirvana is to be in as many smart venues as you can and hope to try and get that meaningful block in the middle.

“You have 10% ideally sat in a passive dark with a little bit of lit, but then you’d have 90% of it sat in the conditional ready for that big block. If you do grab that big block your day is over at that point. It’s wonderful. If you can trade intraday, you don’t need to wait with everyone else to clear at the closing level that the bigger players have decided on. I’m very happy if I can intraday get the blocks and avoid having to get involved with systematic volumes.”

Hughes is the most senior of a team of equity traders covering cash equity, programs, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and ETDs. Also within this team are Sam Vaughan-Jones and Simon Cuthbert, who joined from Close Brothers in 2015 and Majedie Investments in 2022, respectively. The team favours a “three-to-four-pronged approach” to execution, Hughes confirms. 

“The best small cap brokers know where the holders are, who to interact with, who not to interact with, and who may be trading in short term or long term,” he explains. “That’s the manual element of it. Then you do the same exploratory stuff on the electronic venues using data to try and find out who’s toxic, and if that is a good venue or algo suite to use for this type of flow.”

The trading desk at RLAM has proven itself a fluid and flexible entity willing to adapt with the times as the market landscape changes around it. With markets becoming increasingly complex thanks to regulatory changes and advancements in data, these characteristics will likely become more and more of a requirement for desks of the same ilk going forward.

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David Wright was named head of FX trading and distribution at MUFG after three years with the business. He joined the bank in 2021 as global head of e-FX having and previously served as a strategic transformation consultant at State Street.Prior to that, Tokyo-based Wright spent 16 years at Morgan Stanley, most recently as a managing director. He has also held roles at FXall and UBS, as product manager and associate director, respectively.

Royal London Asset Management restructured its global equity team following the departure of its head of equities and some members of the wider global equities team. Peter Rutter, former head of equities at the firm resigned earlier this year, alongside several members of the global equities team who are believed to be setting up their own company. Piers Hillier, chief investment officer, takes on responsibility for Royal London AM’s global equity capabilities. He brings more than 30 years’ experience, including previously serving as head of international equities at Kames Capital, as well as numerous senior global investment roles at other firms.

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Piers Hillier

Peter Rutter, former head of equities at Royal London AM, resigned earlier this year, alongside several members of the global equities team, who are believed to be setting up their own company.

Piers Hillier, chief investment officer, will take on responsibility for Royal London AM’s global equity capabilities.

He brings more than 30 years’ experience, including previously serving as head of international equities at Kames Capital, as well as numerous senior global investment roles at other firms.

Matt Burgess will support Hillier in managing the global equity team, as well as continuing as head of quant strategies.

Also supporting Hillier will be Richard Marwood, co-head of UK equities; Mike Fox, head of sustainable; Bixuan Xu and George Crowdy, who both serve as fund managers; and Dimon Davies, assistant fund manager.

Royal London AM confirmed that the team is also set to draw on the support and input of its teams across asset classes, as well as its responsible investment team. 

“We remain committed to offering a first-class equity capability and will continue to invest in the team,” said Hans Georgeson, chief executive of Royal London AM.

“Piers brings huge experience to the leadership of our global equities capability, supported by an extremely talented team that also bring many years of expertise in equity markets.”

According to the asset manager, there will be no change to the investment approach which underpins its equity capabilities across global equity, UK equity, sustainable or the quantitative funds, adding that the funds will continue to be managed in line with their objectives and restrictions. 

“Royal London Asset Management has depth and capability across multiple asset classes, a long-term investment perspective, and our commitment to these asset classes is unchanged,” asserted Hillier.  

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Bustin brings more than 15 years’ investment experience to the role, having specialised in derivative investment overlays and derivatives trading.

He joins from Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), where he served for over a decade, most recently as head of derivatives. As part of his role at RLAM, Bustin helped institutional asset owners across pensions and insurance manage their risk exposures and implement strategies to take advantage of market opportunities.

Before RLAM, Bustin spent two years as head of derivatives solutions for Aegon Asset Management and as an associate director at Aladdin Capital Management.

Previously in his career he also spent two years as a volatility and structured credit trader at BNP Paribas and a year as a junior trader and convertible bonds trader’s assistant at JP Morgan.

In his new role Bustin will work the solutions team to develop and improve existing products and solutions across fixed income, structured equity and derivatives.

“I am delighted that Darren Bustin is joining the team,” said James Barham, executive chairman of Schroders Solutions.

“Darren’s appointment will further support our clients and our development as we focus on the next chapter for our growing business.”

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In his new role, Golder will report to Murray Roos, group head of capital markets, with a reporting line to Daniel Maguire, group head of post trade. 

Agency broker BTIG expanded its fixed income credit team in London with the appointment of Christelle Girardie and Paras Shah as managing directors. Girardie joined from Seaport Global, where she served as managing director within distressed sourcing and high yield/loan sales. Meanwhile, Shah joined BTIG from Citigroup, where he served as director and head of EMEA high yield trading.

Industry veteran Seth Johnson was appointed by LedgerEdge as a new strategic advisor. He joined from Nex Markets, the electronic execution division of CME Group’s Nex Group, where he served as chief executive officer for nearly four years. Prior to joining Nex, Johnson served as the chief of BrokerTec – also now part of CME Group – and in various roles across ICAP including as its head of strategy and global head of derivatives for ICAP Electronic Broking. In his new role Johnson will be responsible for LedgerEdge’s growth and business development strategy.

Hedge fund Millennium appointed former Morgan Stanley executive, Grant McAllen, to take on a new trading role. He joined Millennium after serving at Morgan Stanley for the last eight years as part of its MSET – Morgan Stanley Electronic Trading – platform. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2014, McAllen spent three and a half years at Barclays Capital in a client onboarding and equities trading services role and a year at Instinet and Fidessa in FIX connectivity-focused roles.

Elsewhere, Royal London Asset Management’s (RLAM) head of derivatives, Darren Bustin, is departing the firm after 11 years for pastures new. Bustin originally joined the asset manager in 2011, reporting to its chief investment officer and accountable for around £35 billion in assets under management across various asset classes.

Prior to joining RLAM, Bustin spent two years as head of derivatives solutions for Aegon Asset Management and as an associate director at Aladdin Capital Management. Earlier in his career he also spent two years as a volatility and structured credit trader at BNP Paribas and a year as a junior trader and convertible bonds traders assistant at JP Morgan.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed the members of its new advisory committee to support its wholesale secondary markets work in equities, derivatives, fixed income and commodity derivatives.

Among the 20 individuals who have been appointed as members of the committee are various heads of trading, including: Alex Skrine, director of electronic trading at Winterflood Securities; Daniel Mayston, managing director, EMEA head of electronic trading and market structure at BlackRock; Edwards Wicks, global head of trading at L&G Investment Management; and Robert Barners, group head of securities trading at LSEG and CEO of Turquoise Global Holdings.

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Darren Bustin is leaving RLAM for pastures new, according to an update on his social media.

“I have made the decision to pursue another opportunity outside of RLAM after being with the company for 11 years,” said Bustin in his update.

“It has been a great experience, working with some great people and great things were achieved. I wish RLAM every success in the future. After some time in the ‘garden’ I will be undertaking a new role in September. More information will be shared in due course.”

Bustin declined to comment on his next role.

After originally joining the asset manager in 2011, Bustin has spent 11 years in his current role, reporting to its chief investment officer and accountable for around £35 billion in assets under management across various asset classes including asset and liability management (ALM), liability driven investment (LDI), annuities, and derivative and complex strategies.

Prior to joining RLAM, Bustin spent two years as head of derivatives solutions for Aegon Asset Management and as an associate director at Aladdin Capital Management. Previously in his career he also spent two years as a volatility and structured credit trader at BNP Paribas and a year as a junior trader and convertible bonds traders assistant at JP Morgan.

“After 11 years at RLAM, Darren Bustin, Head of Derivatives, has decided to leave the company and we wish him the best of luck and success in the future,” said an RLAM spokesperson.

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Kevin Flood will oversee the centralised dealing team at Royal London consisting of six traders working across equity and fixed income, covering all asset classes. He will report to chief investment officer, Piers Hillier.

Flood joined Royal London after previously working at DWS Group where he set up the fixed income trading desk in London. He spent 16 years at Deutsche Bank trading credit, loans, and derivatives across London and New York.

“Kevin’s appointment is a significant step in the continued expansion of our fixed income, equity and multi-asset capabilities,” said Hillier. “His extensive knowledge of RLAM and his expertise within financial markets will be hugely valuable to the business, as we pursue our growth ambitions.”

Flood replaces Cathy Gibson who had been head of dealing at Royal London for almost three years. The TRADE revealed in October that Gibson would take on a new role as global head of trading at Ninety One, formerly known as Investec. In 2018, Flood was also recognised as a Rising Star under The TRADE’s Rising Stars of Trading & Execution initiative.

“It’s a very exciting time to be part of the journey at RLAM. In the last five years, our assets under management have grown from £84.5billion to £139 billion, and we plan to continue on that trajectory. I’m looking forward to continuing to build our execution platform to meet RLAM’s growth plans and to deliver excellent investment outcomes for all our clients.”

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Cathy Gibson will take on the newly-created role in London at Ninety One, formerly known as Investec Asset Management, in the new year, sources familiar with the matter told The TRADE. She will report to John McNab, co-CIO at Ninety One.

Confirming Gibson’s departure, Royal London told The TRADE in a statement that traders Kevin Flood, Chris Hughes and David Harrison will report into chief investment officer, Piers Hillier, on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is appointed.

A spokesperson for Ninety One also confirmed Gibson’s appointment. 

“I’m very pleased to welcome Cathy to Ninety One in the new year,” McNab commented. “Her extensive fixed income and multi-asset experience will be invaluable as we grow Ninety One’s trading platform in line with our global ambitions, giving our clients the best possible execution and investment outcome.”

Gibson departs Royal London after joining in February 2018 to head up a newly created centralised dealing desk covering all asset classes, although primarily equities and fixed income.

Prior to Royal London, she spent just over two years with Deutsche Asset Management where she was head of fixed income trading. Gibson began her career as a centralised dealer at the Bank of Ireland Asset Management and also spent over four years with Pioneer Investments as a senior fixed income trader.

Speaking to The TRADE in July last year, Gibson outlined that diversifying the dealing desk at Royal London in terms of both gender and skillset was a priority as she first took on the role.

In 2016, Gibson was recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ under The TRADE’s Rising Stars of Trading and Execution initiative and last year was awarded buy-side long only trader of the year at The TRADE’s Leaders in Trading 2019 awards ceremony following an industry-wide vote.

South Africa and London headquartered Ninety One was formerly known as Investec Asset Management, but underwent a major rebrand following the company’s demerger from Investec Group in March 2020, when it listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.

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Maria Garcia, interest rates trader, BlackRock

Maria joined BlackRock in February 2019, and primarily focuses on trading emerging market rates. Prior to joining BlackRock, Maria worked as a junior portfolio manager at Hywin Capital in Mayfair, London, where she focused on overseeing an oil equities and equity options portfolio. Before Hywin, Maria worked as an emerging markets rates and foreign exchange trader with Natixis Investment Bank, also in London. Maria holds a BSc Economics degree with a focus on Econometrics from Royal Holloway, University of London, from which she graduated in 2014. Maria has been commended for her knowledge of the emerging markets trading environment.

Christopher Bukogiannis, fixed income trader, DWS Group

Christopher graduated with a 1st in International Finance from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences in January 2019, after interning for two rotations at the FI&C trading desk of DWS in 2017 and 2018. He started a full-time role with the firm in October 2018 as a fixed income trader and quantitative analyst, with a trading focus on investment grade and high yield credits, as well as emerging markets covering the global fixed income portfolio management community. Christopher also spends a fair amount of time with quantitative data analyses and coding and, in addition, implemented portfolio trading for DWS with cutting edge technology as the main portfolio trader for DWS. He was described as “already an influential player in a very challenging trading environment” and a “pioneer and visionary in leading industry changes in trading pattern” by his peers.

Sonal Karsan, portfolio manager/trader, Vanguard Asset Management

Sonal started her career in finance with U.S. Bank where she was an alternative investments analyst, with primary responsibility for multi-asset fund administration for global macro hedge funds, before moving to State Street Global Advisors in 2014 as a portfolio analyst. Sonal spent two years with State Street as a portfolio analyst, providing operational fund support for passive and active equity portfolio managers and performance attribution analysis. In 2016, Sonal moved to Vanguard as an ETF investment analyst before taking on a trading role last year. She was promoted to the portfolio manager/trader position at the start of November, trading equities as well as managing equity portfolios for the firm. Sonal has been commended for her analyst expertise as a foundation for a successful move to a trading role.

Jimmy Cole, equity trader, Moore Capital Management

Jimmy began his career in finance on the sell-side with KCG in 2016 as a junior equity sales trader, after graduating from the University of Hertfordshire with a master’s degree in Finance and Investment Management. He moved to Virtu Financial in mid-2017, continuing to trade equities, before joining the buy-side with Moore Capital Management in April this year, broadening his knowledge of various asset classes, with a primary focus on achieving best execution. Jimmy has been commended for his “exceptional ability, drive and resilience” backed by “sound judgement and skill which has made him stand out as a high performing trading counterpart”.

Sam Vaughan-Jones, equity dealer, Royal London Asset Management

Sam joined Royal London Asset Management in November 2015 as an equity dealer and has been part of the firm’s centralised dealing desk since early last year. He had previously fulfilled a similar role with Close Asset Management from 2009. He graduated from Newcastle University in 2006 with a BSc in Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services. Sam’s peers have praised his excellence of execution and discipline, and he is described as “an integral part of their growth and expansion as a firm”.

This year’s Rising Stars of Trading and Execution will be awarded during the cocktail reception at this year’s Leaders in Trading awards ceremony.

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Rikki Corbyn, equity & derivatives trader, State Street Global Advisors

Rikki Corbyn is an assistant vice president of State Street Global Advisors and an equity and derivatives trader on its London trading desk. Specialising in developed European markets, he provides coverage to the global portfolio management teams, with primary focus on supporting the global equity beta solutions team.  Before joining the trading desk in December 2016, Rikki was manager of EMEA Trade Administration, with responsibility for all post-trade activities across all asset classes. Prior to joining SSGA in March 2013, Rikki held roles with Barclays Capital, Citigroup and Credit Suisse. Rikki has been lauded by his colleagues at SSGA as a “star of the future” thanks to his “strong work ethic and attention to detail”, having “grown immeasurably since moving to the front office”.

William Baker, fixed income & FX trader, Schroders Investment Management

William graduated in 2012 in Mathematics with Honours from the University of East Anglia and joined Schroders Investment management later that year. After two successful years in operations, he went on to trade foreign exchange before becoming part of the fixed income team. William is now an integral part of the fixed income and foreign exchange trading team at Schroders, specialising in European credit markets, described by his peers as an “exceptional young talent” how has grown considerably over the past year.” His trading activity covers investment grade, high yield and derivatives, and has become an important part of the execution process, working closely with portfolio managers across Schroders to achieve best execution and provide market colour.

Liane Fahey, fixed income dealer, Royal London Asset Management

Liane started her career on the sell side, progressing to a junior broker role on the Eurostoxx Options desk, learning her trade in a very faced paced and unforgiving environment.  Following the financial crisis and having worked for almost 10 years, Liane took a career break and returned to a junior trading role on the fixed income desk at BlackRock, where she worked for five years trading mainly investment grade credit, having a key role in setting up its ‘Low Touch’ trading desk which focused on automating both rates and credit flow. She joined RLAM in 2018 as part of a newly created central dealing desk, helping to build out its presence across all areas of fixed income, including investment grade, high-yield and rates, as well as derivatives. Liane has “excelled in her current position” with RLAM and is “well known across the street for her professional and dedicated approach to trading”, say her industry peers.

John Lilley, equities trader, GIC

John began his career in finance in 2006 on the sell-side, as an investment services analyst with Citi’s EMEA equities team, before joining the buy-side with hedge fund Lansdowne Partners in late 2008 – spending eight years with its centralised trading desk, working across the firm’s three main global funds. Since joining GIC in 2016, he has progressed to play a seasoned and active role within London’s high-touch equities team, covering developed and emerging Europe and MENA in all aspects of equity trading – including in special situations, corporate actions, as well as market structure and transaction cost analysis. John is described by his peers as possessing an “exceptional commitment to seeking best execution and providing liquidity solutions” and an “innate ability to assess volatile market conditions in emerging markets and determine appropriate level to access liquidity.” 

Jack Bookatz, execution trader, Millennium Capital Management

Jack’ European equity career began in 2012 at BNY ConvergEx, covering low touch and program trading. He later moved onto HSBC Equity Program Trading desk in 2014, with strong emphasis on emerging markets. Following this, he moved to the buy-side with Millennium Capital Management in 2015, covering low touch trading, index rebalance and emerging markets trading. His peers describe Jack’s knowledge in emerging markets as “second to none”, having honed a “unique combination of technical proficiency with algorithms and market knowledge” and is tipped to become one of the industry’s leading emerging markets traders in the future.

This year’s Rising Stars of Trading and Execution will be awarded during the cocktail reception at this year’s Leaders in Trading awards ceremony.

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