Equities
Equities traders occupy a unique position on the trading landscape. For many
years, equities has been the most advanced market; however, now that asset
classes are increasingly being brought together, the skills earned in equities
trading are in demand as never before.
Whether that can be translated into a new, more efficient and more holistic
market model is a question that is being tested every day, as asset managers
re-adjust the trading desk to bring traders from multiple asset classes closer
together, often under the oversight of a head of trading from an equities
background.
One of the most pertinent questions now may be how to integrate the
experience of equity traders into the multi-asset trading desk; since fixed
income and FX are echoing many of the changes the equities market has
already been through, the equities trader may be well-placed to assist
colleagues to prepare for changes. These include the proliferation of venues
and the increasing sophistication of those markets as they become more
electronic. But should the individual traders trade more than one asset class?
And should they sit together? There is no single accepted answer to these
questions, and different buy-side firms are finding their own unique solutions.
The rise of new utility-style platforms and industry collaborations across the
industry is making its mark on equities too. The aim is to find better ways of
executing in the best interests of clients.
Questions at the top of the equities agenda as we move into the second
half of 2016 include (but are not limited to) the evolution of European, Asian
and North American capital markets, performance, team management and
salaries; market structure and services; market impact, difficulty to trade and
gaming vs. opportunity cost; new trading challenges due to inflows to Passive
Funds/Exchange Traded Funds (ETF); reviewing sell-side partnerships after the
electronification of sell-side brokerage; the anticipated effects of Brexit on the
global asset management community.
However, while some on the buy side are emphasising the opportunity to
take the future into their own hands, others are concerned about the shift
towards passive investing. There are indications that the rise of products such
as ETFs may undermine the whole basis of active asset management. K&KGC
research has found that buy-side firms are among those trading ETFs; asset
managers trading the US from London were evenly divided between those
who did and those who did not trade ETFs.
As ever, market impact continues to be a primary concern around the world.
In the US, the buy side are evenly divided between those who allow more
than one dark pool to scrape their blotter and those who do not. In London,
traders are concerned that after making one or two broker calls, the market
starts to move before they’ve even traded.
Small and mid-cap stocks are imperilled by the changing market structure
and in the US, participants are gravely worried that the market structure is
becoming no longer viable as it is no longer attractive for firms to go public.
As a result, the “pay as you trade" model seems to be on the rise. While
regulators continue to push for higher standards on best execution, some in
the UK are concerned that overly-strict best execution policies could restrict
traders, resulting in fines for trades made in good faith. And while technology
continues to offer the prospect of continued gradual improvements in
analytics and trading performance, K&KGC’s research indicates that the buy
side feel keenly a need for more granular TCA.
Plenty to be getting on with, then. The market never sleeps, as they say…