[ C O V E R
March,” Joseph says. “It could
be down to a number of different
factors, but from our perspective
the channels we found the most
efficient to trade through started
to adjust. The proportion traded
electronically went back up 10%
this year, post-DVCs versus pre-
DVCs and the proportion traded on
the cash desks decreased by 10%
versus pre-DVCs.”
Evolving challenges
While the organisation make-up of
the trading desk and the way it uti-
lises technology may have changed
over time, not to mention those
increasing volumes and the new
regulatory operating environment,
the way in which Joseph’s desk
handles new challenges is very
much a blend of experience and re-
sources working in tandem to make
the most of new opportunities.
“We have up-skilled our trading
desk, where they have been man-
dated and required this year to take
courses in agile methodologies, the
foundations of programming and
machine learning, so that everyone
starts to talk the same language,”
he says.
“It doesn’t mean that everyone
on the desk can code – some have a
technology background like myself
– but it gives a complimentary skill
set. It means we have this agile, in-
cremental, iterative delivery, which
makes us very nimble, making us
well-placed to embrace future
challenges.”
Terms such as agile and nimble
are more often thrown around
by FinTech start-ups or smaller
boutique firms, not those belonging
to an organisation the size of JP
Morgan: the desk trades on behalf
of thousands of different accounts,
in tens of thousands of different
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“In EMEA the number of orders per trader
has increased by 70% over the last three
years. It’s a testament to our overall setup
that during that same period we have seen
an improvement on our implementation
shortfall of 6% as well.”
securities across 70 different markets. As such,
trade automation is a large part of Joseph and
his team’s work.
“One of the things we are working on is a
targeted notification system that will alert
portfolio managers to any relevant liquidity
opportunities or news events,” he offers as an
example. “As a trader supplies details of block
liquidity or specific news events the system
will automatically calculate the relevance of
the information to every portfolio manager
and appropriately target those to which it is
most relevant. “
The targeted notifications systems is being
built on JP Morgan’s proprietary Spectrum
platform, in use across the business’ portfolio
implementation and trading, but Joseph also
highlights the support of the trading experi-
ence in this area. The relationships both on
the desk and with other teams in the asset
management business and wider JP Morgan
structure play a vital role here, especially when
turnaround times are thin and rapid delivery
is paramount as the market structure changes
and throws up new challenges.
“Every accomplishment on the desk, partic-
ularly significant ones, feels like a highlight,”
he says. “As the job changes, being able to
innovate as a group with different teams
makes every day exciting. Every individual
challenge met, be it a small everyday challenge
or something like preparing for MiFID II and
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