[ O U T S O U R C E D T R A D I N G S U R V E Y ]
A clearer picture of an evolving space
Trends are emerging in the third year of our Outsourced Trading Survey as the largest asset managers deliver the highest praise, and the balance of full versus hybrid outsourcing shifts.
As outsourced trading continues to evolve from a niche solution to a more mainstream strategy, the 2025 Outsourced Trading Survey- conducted in partnership with The TRADE, Global Custodian, and Ergo Consultancy – once again offers a timely and comprehensive snapshot of the market.
This year, participant numbers have increased by 5 %, while the number of providers involved jumped from 19 to 25, making this our deepest data dive yet.
The growing interest reflects the industry ' s evolving needs, and the value placed on outsourced trading solutions as asset managers face growing complexity, margin pressure, and a need for more agile execution strategies.
Of the data we collected, 14 providers meet the threshold to have a full profile in this year’ s report. Despite UBS exiting the market, we welcome several new additions – CIC Market Solutions, Ediphy, PennHaven Brokerage Partners, Saxo and SGSS.
In this report, you will find deeper insights into provider performance, client satisfaction, and market dynamics than ever before.
The 800lb gorillas and a shift to full outsourcing Why don’ t we jump straight to our biggest takeaway this year – the largest asset managers deliver the highest plaudits to their providers by some distance. Those in the highest AUM bracket of $ 500 billion plus rate their providers the highest at 6.55, a significant 53 basis points higher than the global average.
For an industry looking to attract the ' 800lb gorillas ' – as previously stated in this handbook in years past – the rating represents a glowing review of outsourced trading services delivered to the largest asset managers and hedge funds across the world.
Another standout trend for us was the steady increase in those opting for full outsourcing versus the hybrid co-sourcing model. The percentage of those stating their setup is a fully outsourced model has risen from 42 % in 2023, to 47 % in 2024 and now 51 % in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, co-sourcing has gone in the other direction.
Looking more broadly at the data, Table 1 shows that overall clients rate their providers as Very Good( 6.02), marginally down from last year, but only by two basis points. For context, the score still outperforms The TRADE’ s overall average for its other surveys( Algorithmic Trading and Execution Management Systems) as well as Global Custodian’ s Prime Brokerage annual review. As Chart 2 shows, the global average saw a notable downward shift between 2023 and 2024, falling 32 basis points – while this may look like a dip in sentiment, we must point out that 2023 was based on a 10-point scoring system which naturally carried a more positive score. In the last 12 months however, this has stabilised notably.
Nearly half( 49 %) of respondents rate the overall service from their providers as Excellent( awarding perfect sevens), with an additional 37 % rating it as Very Good and Good( Chart 3).
For individual categories,
18 // Outsourced Trading Handbook // 2025