The TRADE 58 | Page 77

[ M A R K E T R E V I E W | 2 0 1 9 P R E D I C T I O N S ] Matthew McLoughlin, head of trading, Liontrust Asset Management Looking back on 2018 I think we can all agree that we achieved a great amount as an industry. That being said, I don’t see things slowing down in 2019. Brexit will obviously be in the headlines and will continue to take up a lot of resource on buy-side, sell-side and execution venues alike. Regulatory and political developments, particularly on periodic auctions, tick-size regimes, mid-point trading and SIs have the capacity to change market structure yet again in 2019. Change is the only constant, but some things have already changed for the better and further forced amendments could only harm the end- investor in the long run. “Further forced amendments could only harm the end- investor in the long run.” Cécile Nagel, CEO, EuroCCP Brexit will continue to dominate the agenda. While market participants have already invested significant resources preparing for the UK’s departure from the EU, unknowns remain. Thus far the industry has focused on the official exit date. However, 29 March will only mark the beginning of fundamental changes that will affect financial services firms throughout 2019 and beyond. I also expect regulatory change and M&A to continue to drive the agenda for market infrastructure, especially as firms look to build out their technology and broaden their products and services offering. Enrico Bruni, head of Europe and Asia business at Tradeweb Apart from Brexit and its impact on market functioning and MiFID II/MiFIR calibration, next year’s focus will be on new best execution requirements, and the introduction of mandatory clearing and trading for CAT 3 and CAT 4 firms. Therefore, we expect to see further investment in derivatives trading, as well as automated execution mechanisms, such as our AiEX tool. Building cost- and time-effective workflow solutions will provide trading desks with scale and efficiency when executing risk.” Issue 58 // TheTradeNews.com // 77