Conference Dailys FILS in Philly Today 2019 - Wrap-up | Page 11

FILS IN PHILLY
in-depth
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF
FIXED INCOME LEADERS SUMMIT 2019
Communication the key ingredient
to improving buy- and sell-side
relationships
PANELISTS SAY THAT CONSISTENT, OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BUY- AND SELL-SIDE IS VITAL TO EVOLVING.
I
ncreased levels of communication and informa-
tion efficiencies are the key elements to improv-
ing relationships between the buy- and sell-side,
according to panelists.
For buy-side firms, the volume of data and
information they received from their sell-side
counterparties can be overwhelming, but Steven
DiVittorio, head of public fixed income at Barings
Asset Management, told delegates that talking
to sell-side counterparts allowed for greater
mutual understanding.
“We get so much information throughout the
day; runs, electronic feeds, whatever it is we are
just looking for better, more efficient ways to get
information from sell-side institutions quicker,
easier, so we can do our jobs a lot faster and get
to more important trades rather than things that
you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of time
on,” he said.
Mark Betteridge, global head of fixed income
and currency analytics at data giant Bloomberg,
agreed with DiVittorio’s comments and reinforced
that while regulatory change was a fact of life
within the financial markets, natural evolution
was something firms could influence.
“It’s about the buy-side telling us what they
need next,” he said. “The enhancements that
“We get so much information throughout the day; runs,
electronic feeds, whatever it is we are just looking for
better, more efficient ways to get information from sell-
side institutions quicker, easier, so we can do our jobs a
lot faster and get to more important trades rather than
things that you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of
time on,”
STEVEN DIVITTORIO, BARINGS ASSET MANAGEMENT
we release are based on feedback, direction and
guidance that we receive from the buy-side.”
Betteridge also highlighted the increasingly vital
role that data standardisation is playing in the
flow of information and facilitating technology
innovation for the betterment of both sides, as
the buy-side’s “ingestion of data is reliant on
standardisation” and was driving the use of auto-
mation tools on the sell-side.
Touching on the level of automated systems
that banks are now adopting, George Runsak,
head of global fixed income for Wells Fargo
Wealth Management, welcomed the advance-
ments in technology but also said that the rela-
tionship is still based on communication.
“I constantly hear whether the sell-side needs
to be more high-tech or high-touch; do they need
to leverage technology more effectively or partner
more effectively, and I honestly think they need
to do both,” he said. “If you look at the clients of
the future, they are demanding that. That’s how
we are responding.”
Issue 2
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