Fixed income

On the buy side , the key issues for fixed income as we go into 2017 include the difficulty of understanding and comparing incompatible data from different brokers in various different formats , as well as the estimated cost of implementing MiFID II in Europe . In addition , under the new rules , OTC sellers will be required to have an APA ( Approved Publication Arrangement ) in place so the majority of the buy side , who made their decision , are already planning to establish direct relationships with APAs to satisfy regulatory requirements . One further question is how to define a liquid bond under MiFID II – an issue that was highlighted by the French buy side in the most recent ATF in Paris in November . Beyond this , the buy side are also working to understand how to report

their top five trading venues in MiFID II under best execution requirements . Within best execution , TCA has come to be seen as increasingly important , but several questions remain unanswered , not least of which whether to use a third party for TCA analysis and how to obtain the relevant data . Speaking

of data , there is also demand for more predictive analysis that would estimate the market impact for block trades .