Jessica Lana was named executive director – ETF distribution at Goldman Sachs having previously spent almost six years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Prior to the move, Lana worked as vice president – institutional commodity sales EMEA, ETFs, quantitative investment strategies QIS). She has also previously worked at Macquarie Group, ETF securities and AECOM. 

ABN AMRO Clearing Bank appointed Samantha Page as regulatory manager following almost two years at Euronext. Most recently, Page served as head of market structure, with a focus on EU and UK policy and advocacy, as well as sales and product development. Prior to joining Euronext, Page spent nearly seven and a half years at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), serving in a wholesale banking supervision and authorisations role. Before that, Page spent three years as a director in sales and marketing for futures and over the counter clearing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and prior to that, almost two years at Royal Bank of Scotland as a director in central counterparty clearing.

AllianceBernstein (AB) appointed Andrew Chin as chief artificial intelligence officer, a newly created role at the firm. Chin is an AB operating committee member with a 27-year career at the firm. He most recently served as head of investment solutions and sciences at AB. Elsewhere during his tenure at AB, Chin served as head of quantitative research and chief data scientist, alongside serving as the firm’s chief risk officer for more than a decade. Chin has held a range of leadership roles in quantitative research, risk management and portfolio management at AB, both in New York and London, since joining the firm in 1997. As part of his new appointment, Chin will be based in New York.

Brokerage business MIT SIM appointed Neil Terence O’Connor as equity trader. Milan-based O’Connor joins following almost 15 years at ACCIONA Group’s Spanish asset manager, BESTINVER. He most recently served as equity sales trader, leveraging key knowledge of the Italian, Swiss, US and UK markets. He also previously worked for Gestnord, the brokerage arm of Banca Sella.

The post People Moves Monday: Schonfeld, Goldman Sachs, ABN AMRO Clearing Bank and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Double volume caps (DVCs) were deleted as of 28 March in the original Mifir text published in January. However, the previous text only authorised the enforcement of the SVC [single volume cap] in 18 months’ time – leaving an unintentional window with no caps thanks to the clerical error. Brussels subsequently began exploring possible ways to close the loophole in the new share trading rules. In the last days of March, the European Commission subsequently rushed through a last-minute draft revision to its Mifir text to plug the loophole, keeping the DVCs in place until the implementation of the new single volume cap.

The regulator’s mistake and subsequent decision to fix it has re-sparked an existing discussion around why watchdogs are focusing their attentions on micro changes to regimes and not on the wider issue around low volumes in Europe – especially when the result has little to no impact on the markets. 

Dark trading became the poster child of post-Brexit regulatory discussion in the UK and Europe, with the Bloc championing lit transparent trading throughout. The DVCs regime included in the January Mifir text had followed more than six years of deliberation over the desired cap on dark trading in the Bloc, with the European Commission and Parliament finally settling on the deletion of the 4% and 8% caps in favour of a single cap of 7%. 

“In my opinion, the last-minute decision [in March] wasn’t a surprise as it’s been clear from the beginning of Mifid II that politicians and regulators across Europe are committed to the DVC mechanism,” Evan Canwell, equity trader and market structure analyst at T. Rowe Price, tells The TRADE.

An unintended experiment 

Without the clarification, ESMA had the opportunity to stop enforcing DVCs until Q4 of next year. Had the last-minute changes to the text not come through, Europe would have found itself taking part in an unintended experiment to test how far dark trading could go if left uncapped. 

“While I think it’s unlikely that ESMA had ever planned to stop enforcing the DVC mechanism during this period, it would have been a fascinating opportunity to observe the shift in market dynamics without any artificial constraints on dark trading,” adds Canwell. “This would also have allowed market participants and regulators to engage in discussions on both the optimal thresholds and the appropriateness of any future dark caps, in a fully data-driven manner.”

Following reports of the loophole in early March, participants and venues in some cases had begun to put in place contingency plans should dark trading be left uncapped. Those most vocal against the use of dark caps during the European regulatory discussions came from the buy- and sell-side, with many suggesting the new single cap of 7% was arbitrary and querying how the watchdog had reached this conclusion. Many were therefore keeping close tabs on the saga in March, watching the events unfold in the hope that what they considered an unnecessarily complex detail might not come to fruition.

“There was a genuine hope that there could be an opportunity for those caps to be repealed. I suppose intuitively you would expect a certain level of disappointment on a number of levels,” says James Baugh, head of European market structure at TD Cowen. “One is that we found ourselves in this position, but also perhaps that there wasn’t a willingness to use it as an opportunity, to provide that chance to see what would happen without the caps in place.

“If this was a mistake in the drafting, it would clearly take some courage to roll the dice to see what would happen if the caps were lifted for that interim period.”

The reality is that other regions where dark trading has been left uncapped have not seen the segment grow out of control. In fact, the US, which doesn’t enforce caps, and the UK, which ditched caps post-Brexit, have both seen dark trading reach a certain level and then plateau. In the UK, dark trading has peaked at around 13% of monthly traded volumes on exchange since removing its caps. Meanwhile in Europe, stocks are rarely close to the DVC thresholds. 

“When we look at the double volume cap regime, it’s not like we’re seeing those European markets buffer at those levels,” adds Baugh. “It’s not like dark trading has got to those levels and therefore, it’s constrained at those levels. That’s not the case at all. If anything, the data would show you that it’s trading a couple of percentage points below those current levels.”

The market has evolved towards other forms of execution in light of the caps on dark trading, meaning a significant shift to dark venues is more than unlikely. 

“There are a large number of well-established alternative venues (such as periodic auctions) which allow for trading in a ‘dark-like’ manner and have been firmly embedded in routing logic across Europe,” adds Canwell.

Why is it then that we have seen two major primary exchanges move to launch dark books in the last few months when it was those exchanges that were most against removing caps on dark trading during Mifid discussions? Both Euronext and Deutsche Börse have set their sights on dark trading in the last year. Euronext confirmed in May 2023 that it was set to launch a dark trading service. The service went live trading in March but has seen slow uptake as of yet.

This news was followed by rival exchange Deutsche Börse announcing own its plans to develop a midpoint trading functionality in March earlier this year. The new functionality has an envisaged launch of November. Known as ‘Xetra Midpoint’, the functionality is a customer-driven project according to Deutsche Börse and will be integrated into the Xetra market.

The events around the DVC correction when laid alongside the recent launches paint an interesting picture and begs the question: what is Europe trying to achieve? Europe as a region is one of the most fragmented markets to trade with three times the number of exchanges as the US, 10 times the number of listing venues and 20 times as many post-trade providers.

Central to many panels at recent events is the level of fragmentation Europe has reached alongside its comparatively low volumes to the rest of the world. While fragmentation is essential to competition, it can go the other way and harm markets by causing investors to widen the prices they show and reduce their size.

Speaking at a recent Bloomberg Intelligence event which explored ‘liquiditiy in transition,’ Eleanor Beaslety, COO, equity execution, Goldman Sachs, said: “Innovation is great and if something has a USP that brings more volumes into Europe, that’s great. What we don’t need is more of the same. There are a number of dark books. The interesting thing with primary markets is potentially they have unique liquidity in regions that are very national so that could lead to more liquidity coming to the fore. Where it’s just another venue, it’s expensive and it’s another overhead.”

Moving from a micro focus to a macro one

With volumes in Europe on a continuous decline – seen most drastically on the lit continuous order books – it forces participants to question whether or not regulators are focusing on the right areas, with many participants suggesting we should zoom out from these time-consuming micro debates and assess the wider macro landscape to support growth in Europe. 

“We’re rarely in a steady state with regulation. We implement something and then months down the line we’re looking to change it,” said Anish Puaar, head of European equity market Structure at Optiver, also speaking at Bloomberg’s event.

“It’s every time something is introduced – e.g. DVC or SI thresholds – and this tinkering with micro aspects takes up a lot of time and doesn’t have any meaningful change in the market. Europe’s problems are much bigger than that.” 

Volumes have indeed become increasingly segmented and internalised in light of the challenging volume environment in Europe. Alongside volumes executed by systematic internalisers, the bilateral and negotiated trade segments have also grown exponentially. This is where many suggest regulators should be focusing their attentions. 

“That’s the bigger macro picture, not squabbling over the double volume caps,” says Baugh.

The UK is now bringing in new requirements in May that will transform the way firms tag trades and subsequently report them, shedding more light on volumes and liquidity taking place off exchange. However, a slight hinderance to this is that the UK and Europe have once again opted for ever so slightly different regimes. 

“If we could flag OTC trades and get consistency across the UK an EU it would go a long way to solving a lot of what the consolidated tape is supposed to be doing,” added Rupert Fennelly, head of electronic trading sales and coverage, Barclays Investment Bank, also speaking at Bloomberg’s event.

The events of the last few months have exacerbated a desire from participants to see their appointed regulators re-focus their attentions on core structural issues surrounding Europe’s trading landscape. As a region, Europe must turn its attention away from the small and arguably arbitrary fixes in favour of a resolution to the larger issues at hand.

“We need to have some tougher conversations that might be politically difficult such as simplifying post-trade. That would be a much more meaningful debate than some of the tinkering we’ve done over the last 10-15 years,” concluded Puaar. 

The post The dark trading debacle – does anyone even care? appeared first on The TRADE.

DTCC said that Goldman Sachs has streamlined its post-trade processes, resulting in a reduction in same-day affirmation (SDA) exceptions and settlement fails in Q4 2023 alone.

Risa Lederhandler, global head of equities and securities services operations at Goldman Sachs, said: “Automation is a key enabler of operational efficiency and enhanced client experience. We were pleased to validate through our analysis that our settlement efficiency strategy, supported by CTM’s M2i workflow, has resulted in a significant reduction in settlement fails for our clients.”

According to DTCC, clients using CTM’s M2i workflow will also benefit from central matching and auto-affirmation capabilities, which are typically more efficient than local matching and affirmation by custodians. 

“We found that M2i’s process increased affirmation rates by 9pm ET on T, a key objective as we prepare for the move to T+1. In addition, the M2i platform’s enhanced SSI enrichment capabilities resulted in more settlements occurring without additional input from our Operations teams,” said Lederhandler. “As the industry continues to prepare for T+1, we are focused on further increasing our automation of allocations in the US market. M2i is core to this objective.”

DTCC said that majority of CTM investment managers using M2i to match and affirm their US trades achieve a near 100% affirmation rate by 9:00pm ET on trade date, meeting the requirements for US’s impending T+1 settlement deadline on 28 May 2024.

“It is exciting to see Goldman Sachs’ results from leveraging CTM’s M2i workflow, a critical enabler of T+1 that helps to significantly reduce trade fails and facilitates straight-through processing,” said Val Wotton, managing director and general manager of DTCC Institutional Trade Processing.

“Clients utilising M2i benefit from a significant increase in SDA rates for DTC-eligible trades, ultimately reducing costs related to trade fails, exception resolution costs, and operational friction. We are pleased to provide these benefits to the financial services industry.”

Goldman Sachs implemented CTM’s M2i workflow in Q4 2022 as part of their broader strategy to improve settlement efficiency and create a streamlined post trade experience for clients.

In September, DTCC revealed that alongside Goldman Sachs, 350 investment managers are utilising CTM’s automated trade affirmation features to expedite the post-trade process, aligning with the industry’s readiness for the US transition to T+1 trade settlement.

The post Goldman Sachs boosts settlement efficiency with DTCC’s CTM workflow appeared first on The TRADE.

Robbert Booij is set to take over as chief executive of Eurex Frankfurt AG, effective from 1 July 2024, succeeding Michael Peters in the role. Booij, who is joining the Eurex executive board in May, most recently served as chief executive of ABN AMRO Clearing, having been appointed in 2018. He has also previously held senior positions at: ICE Clear Netherlands, AFN, and the FCA. Booij is also currently chair of the European Advisory Board and member of the Global Board at FIA, as well as having previously served as chair of the Eurex exchange council. 

Abhay Kumar Sinha was named co-head of credit trading, Asia Pacific at Barclays, set to lead the credit business alongside James Roberts. Sinha has held numerous senior positions during his 25 years in the credit industry, having most recently served at Deutsche Bank for seven years, including as managing director and head of special situations – Asia. He also led Deutsche Bank’s corporate financing business in India and contributed heavily to the development of the bank’s structured finance business across south and southeast Asia. 

Mark Burgess joined commodities specialist Marex as equities trader following a 14-year stint at Winterflood Securities. Burgess joined market maker Winterflood back in 2009 and has served as European equities trader, head of European market making, and most recently UK equities trader. Burgess’ appointment follows two other traders, Ben Ralph-Davies and Joel Russell, who left Winterflood’s London business last year to join rival market maker Shore Capital, according to sources. 

Virtu Financial appointed Simon McGhee in an exchange-traded product (ETP) and fixed income sales role. McGhee joined Virtu Financial after a career break, which followed a nearly eight-year stint at Bluefin Europe. While at Bluefin, McGhee most recently served as a partner – a position he held for 10 months. Prior to that, he was director, head of ETF business development at the firm. Before joining Bluefin, McGhee held an iShares capital markets role at BlackRock for three years. His previous roles include stints as a portfolio/ETF execution trader at Barclays Capital; pan European sales trader at Blue Oak Capital; stockbroker at Compagnie Financial Tradition; equity dealer at City Equities.

The post People Moves Monday: Goldman Sachs, Eurex, Barclays and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Esposito joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as a salesperson for emerging markets debt. He was named managing director in 2002 and partner in 2006.

Jim Esposito

“No matter the role, Jim has dedicated himself to our business with a keen focus on serving our clients, promoting effective risk management and enhancing the culture of the firm. Jim represents the very best attributes of Goldman Sachs – partnership, client service, excellence and integrity,” said Monday’s memo.

“[..]We have benefitted greatly from his depth of expertise across products, services and markets, as well as from his dedication to identifying effective solutions to address our clients’ evolving needs.”

During his tenure at Goldman, Esposito served in a variety of roles including operating officer of the investment banking division, head of the EMEA financing group, and co-head of the global financing group.

He later took on his more recent roles as global co-head of the global markets division and global co-head of the investment banking division, and finally, his most recent role as co-head of global banking and markets.

Upon his departure, he will take on the role of senior director.

“Mine has been an unconventional GS career journey – changing roles, divisions, and geographies multiple times and then back again. I thrived given the variety of experiences on offer, but ultimately you reach a point where opportunities for change become more limited,” said Esposito in a post on social media.

“As the pace of innovation accelerates at a mind blowing speed, there’s a strong pull to explore new adventures […] From Buffett to Beckham, I take with me countless memories engaging with iconic clients. It’s been the privilege of a lifetime working alongside exceptional colleagues who have inspired and supported me.”

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As markets become increasingly complex and interconnected, the need for speed, precision, and automation has become paramount. From the early days when algorithms were basic rule-based systems executing predefined strategies, to the present era of machine learning and artificial intelligence-driven models, the evolution of algorithmic trading is central to the adaptability of financial markets. 

“Algorithmic development has and always will evolve to achieve the best performance possible versus the client benchmark,” says Alex Harman, head of EMEA electronic and program trading at Goldman Sachs. “That would involve minimising footprint via enhancing order placement and internalisation, having extensive liquidity capture via the SOR and a framework of customisable algorithms built upon a fast, scalable algorithmic platform.”

Simplification and automation have been key focus areas on the buy-side. The goal is to enable high touch traders to adapt dynamically to market conditions while still ensuring that algo strategies remain simple so that those strategies can be correctly measured and compared. 

“On our systematic side, we have adaptive algorithms that are identified in our EMS and routed to multiple venues to achieve the optimal outcome,” notes Samuel Henderson, EMEA equities head trader at Invesco.

“This adaptive automation allows us to manage hundreds of orders quickly and efficiently at below pre-trade costs and most importantly without adverse selection. As we expand our database of measurable historic trades, our machine learning insights continue to enhance the decision making of our algos.”

Evolving client demand has driven innovation in algo trading. More traditional strategies, such as VWAP for example, have begun to incorporate machine learning and predictive techniques to remain relevant. Increasingly, clients are looking for more advanced methods of liquidity seeking, in particular in harder-to-trade stocks during liquidity events, such as the close and monthly expiries.

“Trading is always a trade-off between price impacts and opportunity risks,” says Ben Springett, head of electronic and program trading, EMEA, at Jefferies. “The longer I take, the more opportunity/risk I’m exposed to. We see a migration of strategies toward higher urgency liquidity seeking; we see people moving away from VWAP; and we see less people willing to wait for the closing auction.”

During periods of high volatility, some quant funds as well as funds which typically use long duration or schedule-based strategies such as VWAP or TWAP, will see a shift in urgency to go into more arrival like benchmarks such as liquidity seeking algos. 

“Clients that continue using schedule algos tend to shorten the order duration and in addition, they look to customise participation in the closing auction,” notes Harman. 

Volatility

During periods of increased volatility, algo strategies come to the forefront even though their usage isn’t necessarily changed entirely. Instead, it becomes a by-product of a change in objective of the buy-side trader. A greater sense of immediacy becomes apparent for traders in these periods, resulting in a shift in algo strategies.

Typically, as volatility increases, liquidity decreases, resulting in an increase in impact. In such periods, it can be observed that traders move from automated algo trading to high touch and portfolio trading, relying on more blocks. 

“As market volatility increases, we find clients tend to specify more algo parameters on an order level i.e., ‘offsets to benchmark’, ‘would levels’ and ‘smart scaling’,” notes Chris McConville, global head of execution services and trading at Kepler Cheuvreux Execution Services (KCx). “We also see an increase in customised algo usage. In more recent situations where market volatility has increased, we saw an increase in demand for agency blocks.”

Information leakage

When utilising algorithms, information leakage becomes paramount, especially when breaking up orders and dealing with multiple banks. Various techniques exist to help combat the issue, including splitting larger parent orders into smaller child orders to disguise the full intent of a trade, to both the market and a single broker. 

“Trading electronically can prevent word of mouth leakage – but similarly information leakage can be created by using the wrong algorithm or venue in the wrong way,” emphasises Invesco’s Henderson.  

Unpredictability also takes precedent. Firms need to be unpredictable when they respond to price changes, unpredictable in terms of size that they’re submitting to markets, while also maintaining an unpredictable stance in terms of their presence in the market. 

Reducing the predictability of the algo order placement – the child orders in the market – can also help reduce information leakage. In essence, preventing information leakage in algorithmic trading hinges on the intelligent design and execution of algorithms and SORs, notes McConville.

“Strategies like randomising order sizes, managing market entry times, utilising multiple and non-displayed trading venues, and deploying conditional orders are vital,” he says. “These approaches not only protect a trader’s strategy but also enhance the efficacy of their trades in a complex, multi-bank environment.”

Limitations of algo trading

As with any technological advancement, algorithmic trading has its limitations. Although these have narrowed, these strategies can still be improved. One of the biggest limitations is the lack of understanding related to the context behind the orders that are being placed. 

“Even the most sophisticated algorithm cannot know that the portfolio manager has been waiting three days to find liquidity, a potential catalyst is approaching, or that a bullish research note was published earlier that day,” highlights Phil Risley, head of trading and product development at Redburn Atlantic. “The algo will take the statistically correct approach, and adjust for a range of real-time signals, but that may not necessarily be optimal for that stock, for that PM, on that day.”

Algorithms are not one size fits all and another limitation to these strategies is that their appropriateness varies. Just because the tool was the most appropriate one day, does not mean it will necessarily be best tool on the next. Traders must consistently assess the usefulness of algo strategies and amend them appropriately to ensure they provide the best outcome. 

“There may be a change in market conditions, such that an algorithmic strategy was perfect yesterday, when there’s a significant amount of midpoint liquidity, there’s periodic auction, there’s conditional blocks and so on, and today that might not be the case,” notes Jefferies’ Springett. 

“Having an awareness of the real-time conditions that you’re trading into; helps you navigate the limitations of algorithmic trading.”

Another key limitation is liquidity. There is no magical way to create liquidity and algorithms may not be appropriate in every scenario. 

“Pre-trade metrics can give an idea of estimated cost and liquidity – which should help the trader choose the best way to start an order, be it via an algorithm, a high-touch desk, directly using broker capital on risk or any combination of channels,” explains Henderson. 

Most algos are based on a schedule and that schedule can be interrupted by events. This means that if volume is out of character, the algo must guess, which can ultimately lead to negative results. 

“Any algo is bound by the parameters the trader sets, unless the algo is customised. This is where understanding your algo tools is key. And, if you use more than one algo provider, you must make sure you know the differences between them,” stresses BNY Mellon Pershing’s equity trading desk manager, Matt Short.

Trader intuition

As with any technological advancement, the trader’s role shifts as it looks to adapt and improve workflow. Trader intuition is crucial, given that traders can see past historical data and utilise lived experiences to make the best decisions in unusual scenarios, which algorithms may not be able to detect.  

“Buy-side traders have an awareness of the stocks they’re trading, whether or not they’re sectorised, or arranged by portfolio management group, or whatever it might be – they have that underlying experience where they’ve seen a range of different conditions,” notes Jefferies’ Springett. “They’ve identified what can be successful and unsuccessful in those different conditions. And almost on a second nature basis, know what the right tool is for the job at any given point in time.”

Advancements such as artificial intelligence have proven to be beneficial to traders, however, these have been viewed as aids as opposed to replacements of the human trader. The same can be said for algorithmic trading strategies.

The buy-side have better internal tooling via their EMS or data provided by counterparty banks to help ensure they know the best time to use a certain strategy. Thanks to the continued evolution of electronic and algorithmic trading, buy-side traders are now inundated with growing data sets and pre-trade analytics to help determine what to do with a specific order. 

KCx’s McConville highlights that “while the efficiency and analytical prowess of algorithms are undeniable, the role of trader intuition in selecting the right algo remains indispensable.”

A benefit of algorithmic trading is its lack of human bias. Humans inherently have bias, be it conscious or unconscious– something that algorithms can avoid, making them more useful in certain trading scenarios. 

“If you are seeking to identify genuine differences that exist between different things, then having an automated process of managing the distribution of orders across those is critical. It’s impossible for a human being to remove all of their bias from any process,” adds Springett. 

Customisation

Central to much market debate in recent years as algorithms have developed is how much a firm should customise their strategies. Customisation comes with pros and cons, depending on what the algo is being tailored for. 

“When considering algo wheels, it is rare that an out-of-the-box strategy is going to be a perfect fit, so true customisations – specifically designed to take account of both the benchmark and the characteristics of the order flow – are more common,” notes Redburn Atlantic’s Risley. 

Although providing many benefits, customisation can also bring about more complexity, which could lead to increased risk of unintended consequences. To avoid these, robust tests, testing capabilities, QA testing, and change and release procedures are required to ensure that customisation does not impose unintentional consequences. The client’s desired customisation might also achieve different outcomes across brokers.

“While we try to build algos that work really well out of the box, we have several clients who each have different needs and requirements,” notes Goldman Sachs’ Harman. “What one client needs from VWAP or liquidity seeking algos doesn’t necessarily match what the next client will want in terms of performance, venues or urgency.”

Customisation can also increase cost and come with added pressures, including ensuring staff – especially new joiners – are trained up on each change to the algorithm. The buy-side have been vocal at industry events about the danger customisation poses to delaying updates to algorithms. When a new version of an algorithm is released, those firms who have customised it are often left until last to upgrade. 

“It is important to stay disciplined when developing [customised algo] solutions, in terms of documentation, increased testing, or even simply ensuring your client understands what the custom actually does in real life,” emphasises KCx’ McConville. “One thing is for certain, being efficient with customised solutions means you really need to understand agility, to avoid a drag on your resources.”

Central to agility is data. Like with anything linked to automation, data plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of any advancement. Algorithms require reliable sources of data around venue performance, smart order routing, liquidity profiles or opportunity costs to ensure they are beneficial to traders.

That data needs to be updated frequently to ensure the effectiveness of the solution, given that real-time data forms a key part of algorithmic behaviour. 

“It is important to understand that the execution landscape is continually changing and that historical data may not reflect today’s reality, but even more crucial is the recognition that the goal of any form of analysis is to develop insights allowing you to improve results,” notes Risley.

Looking forward

Although having its limitations and with areas of growth still existing, algorithmic trading continues to show promise as a trading strategy to help prioritise time and shift attention to more pressing orders. 

Algorithms are getting smarter and buy-side desks are equipped with more data and analytics to help with algo strategies alongside their tool kits becoming more sophisticated. Although limitations do exist within algo strategies, it appears as though these are narrowing. Algorithms are smarter than ever, but there’s still more work to be done.

The TRADE has actively been tracking developments in algorithmic trading over the past 17 years, by carrying out its annual Algorithmic Trading Survey. First launched in 2008, the survey now receives over 1,500 provider ratings from traders across the globe. To share your views please participate in the survey here.

The post Algorithmic trading: Smarter than ever? appeared first on The TRADE.

The award was decided by an industry vote by almost 350 attendees and later announced on stage.

Now in its second year running, the Industry Person of the Year Award is designed to celebrate those individuals who have made a significant impact on their own organisation and, equally, the industry externally, with a commitment to bettering and future proofing the markets for years to come.

After a landslide victory, Beasley took to the stage to receive her crystal. In her acceptance speech, she highlighted several causes important to her including the need for greater diversity in the industry, in particular gender diversity when it comes to senior roles.

Beasley joined Goldman Sachs to manage its new-look market structure team in 2019. She assumed the role at the bank after a 15-year stint with Morgan Stanley where she held several roles, most recently head of market structure for clients.

In her current role for Goldman Sachs, she is responsible for ensuring the operational efficiency of the business, managing relationships with exchanges and ensuring the business and its clients are well-positioned for developments within the European market structure. She began her career as an analyst at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in 2002.

Beasley is a committed expert and thought leader in market structure – an essential tool for any institution amid the many regulatory shifts taking place in the market as of late – and alongside her role at Goldman Sachs she is also chair of the AFME Securities Trading Committee, as well as sitting on the board of Cboe Europe and participating in several exchange and industry advisory groups.

Other nominees for the award included: Seema Arora, managing director, head of execution sales, Instinet Europe, Chris Jackson, global head of equities strategy and head of equities, EMEA, Liquidnet, Stéphane Marie-Françoise, director, multi-asset trader, Unigestion and Matt Mcloughlin, chief commercial officer and partner, Liontrust Asset Management.

The TRADE would like to extend its congratulations once again to Beasley for her award!

The post Goldman Sachs’ Eleanor Beasley takes home the Industry Person of the Year Award 2023 appeared first on The TRADE.

Now in its second year, this award is designed to celebrate those individuals who have made a significant impact on their own organisation and, equally, the industry externally, with a commitment to bettering and future proofing the markets for years to come.

Shortlisted individuals are repeated contributors to discussion whether that be through panels, associations or schemes to support the next generation joining the financial services industry.

The winner will be decided by a live industry vote at The TRADE’s Leaders in Trading gala awards night on 8 November. Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted nominees!

Industry Person of the Year 2023 shortlist:

Seema Arora, managing director, head of execution sales, Instinet Europe  

Champion of The TRADE’s Rising Stars of Trading and Execution award scheme, Instinet Europe’s Seema Arora needs little introduction with an extensive financial career spanning more than 25 years.

Beginning her career at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson as director and head of portfolio sales trading in 1997, she later went on to spend six years at JP Morgan, initially as an executive director and head of execution sales responsible for electronic and portfolio trading and ETFs. She later took on a role at the bank as executive director of investor flow sales responsible for the introduction of its derivative product to its UK client base.

Prior to joining Instinet Europe, Arora spent several years at Kepler Cheuvreux also in senior execution sales, program and portfolio trading focused roles. She joined Instinet Europe in 2019 as managing director and head of execution sales, her current role where she is responsible for the growth of new and existing client revenue. 

Alongside her role within the markets, Arora is vocal in her support of the next generation of individuals entering the financial services industry through participation in intern programs and the Rising Stars initiative, in partnership with The TRADE. 

Eleanor Beasley, chief operating officer for EMEA equity execution services, Goldman Sachs 

Chief operating officer of EMEA equity execution services, Eleanor Beasley, joined Goldman Sachs to manage its new-look market structure team in 2019. She assumed the role at the bank after a 15-year stint with Morgan Stanley where she held several roles, most recently head of market structure for clients.

In her current role for Goldman Sachs, she is responsible for ensuring the operational efficiency of the business, managing relationships with exchanges and ensuring the business and its clients are well-positioned for developments within the European market structure. She began her career as an analyst at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in 2002.

Beasley is a committed expert and thought leader in market structure – an essential tool for any institution amid the many regulatory shifts taking place in the market as of late – and alongside her role at Goldman Sachs she is also chair of the AFME Securities Trading Committee, as well as sitting on the board of Cboe Europe and participating in several exchange and industry advisory groups.

Chris Jackson, global head of equities strategy and head of equities, EMEA, Liquidnet

Global head of equities strategy and head of EMEA equities for Liquidnet, Chris Jackson has an extensive equity trading career spanning over 25 years. He began his career in program trading sales at London-based investment bank SG Warburg.

Jackson later spent 12 years at Merrill Lynch where he held a number of roles in both London and New York, most recently as head of sales across programme, transitions and electronic trading for the EMEA region. Jackson left Merrill Lynch in 2009 to join Citi as its head of execution sales for EMEA before joining Liquidnet in 2015. He served in a variety of senior equities roles until his most recent one as global head of equity strategy and head of equities for EMEA. He is also responsible for Liquidnet’s equity product strategy. Jackson played a pivotal role during the acquisition of Liquidnet by TP ICAP Group, ensuring a smooth transition during the integration process.

Alongside his various equities roles within the market, Jackson has previously been co-chair of the FIX committee for EMEA, an advisor to the UK Government office for science on the future of computer trading in financial markets and a founding member of the OpenTCA initiative to promote transparency and standards in transaction cost analysis (TCA). In April, he took part in a charity bike ride home from the TradeTech Europe 2023 conference in Paris in aid of Farms for City Children.

Stéphane Marie-Françoise, director, multi-asset trader, Unigestion

Senior vice president and multi-asset trader at Unigestion, Stéphane Marie-Françoise, has an extensive financial markets career spanning more than 20 years. Beginning his career at Dexia Securities as a financial analyst assistant in 2002 he has since gone on to serve at CPR Asset Management, Amundi and Unigestion.

After joining CPR Asset Management in 2002 in a middle-office role, Marie-Françoise rose through the ranks, joining the dealing desk in 2005 in an equities program trading and derivatives position. He later took responsibility for the dealing desk in 2007, managing a team of three traders. Marie-Françoise moved to Amundi as a senior execution trader in 2012 before eventually joining Unigestion in 2013 in a multi-asset capability as a vice president and multi-asset trader. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2018, later taking on his current role as director and multi asset trader.

Marie-Françoise was recognised as one of The TRADE’s Rising Stars of Trading and Execution in 2017. He is a continued thought leader in the industry, particularly in the multi-asset sphere, and was subsequently awarded the Buy-side Market Structure Expert of the Year award at Leaders in Trading 2022 by The TRADE after an industry vote.

Matt Mcloughlin, chief commercial officer and partner, Liontrust Asset Management

Former TRADE Rising Star of Trading Execution, Matt McLoughlin has nearly two decades of financial markets experience, including the last eight years he has spent at Liontrust Asset Management. He began his career at the UK’s HM Treasury, before moving to AIG Investments to manage fixed income funds.

He subsequently spent six years as a senior trader at hedge fund RAB Capital before moving to Legal & General Investment Management to trade global equities and derivatives. Following this, in 2015, he shifted to Liontrust to run the trading desk. He assumed the role of chief commercial officer at Liontrust in April, now overseeing the development and commercial strategies of the Group as well as maintaining oversight of the trading desk. Under his stewardship, Liontrust was awarded the Multi-Asset Trading Desk of the Year and Mid-Cap Trading Desk of the Year by The TRADE in 2022 and 2017 respectively.

McLoughlin is a committed contributor to industry discussion and to the development of new talent in the markets. Alongside his core roles, McLoughlin is a director and board member of The Plato Partnership, a member of the Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Management Committee and a member of Liontrust Product & Distribution Committee, as well as having numerous committee memberships at the UK Investment Association.

The post Leaders in Trading 2023: Industry Person of the Year shortlist revealed appeared first on The TRADE.

As another new category to the 2023 Leaders in Trading awards gala, this award is intended to celebrate those sell-side institutions committed to expanding their electronic trading offerings to aid clients and remain innovative.

Among the key players in this competitive landscape, The TRADE has deemed Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JP Morgan and TD Cowen the top performers for the 2023 shortlist.

Goldman Sachs 

Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading (GSET) has undergone a makeover in the last 12 months, designed to streamline its operations and expand its algorithmic client offering. Around 72% of what Goldman trades per day in notional is now accounted for by the low touch channel with the roughly 28% left accounted for by high touch and program trading.

In light of the evolving demands of its client base, the Goldman Sachs team has been expanding the remit of its low touch capabilities including the building out of its suite of algorithms on its new proprietary equity trading platform, Atlas. Throughout 2023, the bank has been migrating its algos onto Atlas including its new liquidity seeking algo, Sonar, a dark liquidity seeking algo, Sonar Dark and VWAP. The rest of its algo suite are derivatives of these three. Embedded in its Sonar strategy is a new Dynamic Close Scaling perimeter designed to capture more liquidity in the closing auction and DTC Stealth – a new solution aimed at internalising orders before they touch the street. 

“GS’s desire to help clients improve their trading performance at the parent order level across all trading channels (high touch, program trading and low touch) was a core reason why we kicked off a multi-year, global >$100mm USD investment into our trading stack three years ago. Everything has been built from the ground up, giving us the enormous scale and flexibility needed to operate in the trading landscape we see today,” the bank told The TRADE. 

Jefferies

Jefferies Electronic Trading (JET) offers algorithmic strategies and program trading across Europe, the US and Asia. The broker offers a platform with algorithmic access spanning 45 countries and over 100 liquidity destinations globally. Jefferies offers its clients a full suite of liquidity seeking and benchmark tracking algorithms, both through client integration and via FIX architecture to OEMS providers.

Alongside the firm’s liquidity seeking, next generation, auction and listed based algorithms, Jefferies offers its clients workflow solutions allowing them to switch between strategies or utilise tiered strategies, and a suite of customisable algorithmic strategies across VWAP, TWAP and others. It’s constantly working with its buy-side clients to develop and tailor new strategies to meet their needs including continuously developing its growing algo wheel offering, creating new strategies around the close in light of the market’s shift to the final portion of the trading day and new tools for order aggregation amid industry consolidation.

It has previously been ranked number one US electronic trading product and service quality provider and number one most helpful execution broker during the covid-related market crisis by Coalition Greenwich. Jefferies won the Algorithmic Trading Best Customer Support & Consulting at the Leaders in Trading Awards 2019. 

JP Morgan 

JP Morgan moved to expand its rates algo franchise to support the market’s wider electronification of rates trading – which has historically had limited algo usage and instead favoured risk transfer via RFS and RFQ for pricing and execution – in May.

As part of the expansion, JP Morgan now offers a complete set of algo order types available in rates across time, limit and market. The offering is available via the bank’s single dealer platform, Execute, and via API, with plans to get the offering live with FlexTrade and Tradeweb in the future. The bank launched its existing TWAP rates and adaptive algos last year. Both use JP Morgan’s internalised liquidity pool.

Alongside the expansion, JP Morgan also became the first dealer to go live on Bloomberg for automated US treasuries algo execution, meaning clients can now place an order on the platform and executions are streamed back for clients in real time with electronic trade booking once the order is done. The move meant the bank’s rates algo offering became equal to its long-standing FX algos offering in terms of analysis and tools available.

“Algos help clients manage costs, efficiently access liquidity and are an important utility in the toolkit given the current market environment. Other benefits include the time savings associated with the automation of workflows, the ability to access multiple different sources of liquidity, and the availability of pre- and post-trade analytics,” Chi Nzelu, head of FICC eTrading, JP Morgan, told The TRADE at the time of the announcement. 

JP Morgan won the Algorithmic Trading Best Provider – Multi-User Clients Award at Leaders in Trading 2022.

TD Cowen 

Despite the industry challenges posed by consolidation and declining market volumes, TD Cowen’s European electronic trading team has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months. In a time when many are making difficult decisions around downsizing, TD Cowen has expanded its European electronic trading business, continuing to hire talent to reinforce its team to meet growing demand from clients under the leadership of Tom Campbell.

Since its launch in 2020, TD Cowen’s equities market share has continued to grow in the European market. Recent developments have further accelerated the firm’s progress, including its acquisition by The Toronto-Dominion Bank for $1.3 billion. “This strategic move provided a springboard for further growth, opening new opportunities and strengthening its market presence,” Cowen told The TRADE.

“At the heart of TD Cowen’s success lies a commitment to best-in-class client coverage. Its thoughtful liquidity interaction and market-leading dark liquidity seeking algorithms enable the team to not only stay ahead of the competition but also manage costs more effectively for clients. Its agility and adaptability to client needs in algo trading is truly exceptional, exemplified by its ability to swiftly implement changes intraday (or where necessary overnight) — a feat that larger institutions struggle to match.”

The post Leaders in Trading 2023: Meet the nominees for…. Best Broker Electronic Trading Initiative appeared first on The TRADE.

Investec has named Paul Moss as its newest equity sales trader following three and a half years at Goldman Sachs.

He has held various positions across the industry, most recently as CEEMEA (Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa) equity sales trader at Goldman Sachs. Before that we worked in a range of roles at Citi, most recently as pan Asia equity sales trader. 

Read more – Trading in Asia: A future outlook

He initially announced his departure from Goldman six months ago before announcing his move to Investec on his social media. Speaking to the appointment, Moss said he was “thrilled to be joining the Investec team in London [and] working closely again with the team in South Africa.”

Earlier this year, The TRADE sat down with the Goldman Sachs equities execution services desk for EMEA to discuss the changing role of a sell-side counterparty, evolving client demands and market structure and regulatory change on the horizon.

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