The TRADE 55 | Page 66

[ M A R K E T R E V I E W | F I X E D I N C O M E ] “Price discovery is another plus, as investors get exposure to bonds but with the trading transparency of an individual stock.” - BRYON LAKE, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL ETFS, JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT fixed income is labelled as one of the biggest drivers in the growth of bond ETFs, which are increas- ingly used by a range investors for a variety of different purposes in portfolios. In some instances, they are adopted as building block exposures at the core of portfolios or as more tactical trading vehicles for the implementation of asset allocation decisions. 66 // TheTrade // Spring 2018 “We’ve seen increased ETF usage across all client channels, including platforms and independent financial advisors,” says Bryon Lake, head of the inter- national ETF business at JP Morgan Asset Manage- ment. “In many instances firms are building out and developing their platforms to support ETF trading in response to burgeoning investor demand. “While investors may be buying a single ticker on-exchange, in reality they’re getting diversification from a basket of bonds. Price discovery is another plus, as investors get exposure to bonds but with the trading transparency of an individual stock. A number of asset managers running fixed income portfolios may also use fixed income ETFs as a liquidity buffer. You’ll see more work from us on this front, in terms of product development, as we respond to growing investor demand.” Growing investor confidence Greater cost and trading transparency resulting from