[ S U R V E Y | E X E C U T I O N M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S ]
Figure 5 : Asset classes traded 2020 (% of respondents )
94 % 64 % 34 % 42 % 5 %
Equities
Listed Derivatives Fixed Income Foreign Exchange Other
up , 57 % of respondents answered that they had no plans to do so , while just 10 respondents were able to name which provider they hoped to onboard in future . Similarly , 66 % of respondents said that they had no plans to change which EMS provider they were currently using .
In terms of the asset classes traded through these systems ( see figure 5 ) equities continue to dominate the landscape with just under 95 % of survey respondents trading this class of instruments . Interestingly there were also noticeable
Figure 6 : Regional distribution 2020
3 %
47 %
10 %
2020
27 %
13 % increases in the proportion of other asset classes : listed derivatives rose to almost two thirds of respondents ( 64 %), fixed income rose to a third of respondents ( 33.5 %) and foreign exchange increased from 12.4 % in 2019 to 42.4 % of respondents in this year ’ s survey . This all goes hand-in-hand with research from Aite Group that has explored in detail the trend toward electronic and automated trading in non-equity asset classes .
Figure 6 shows that the geographic spread of respondents to this year ’ s survey was broadly in
Asia Pacific
Europe
North America
Rest of the World
United Kingdom line with 2019 , with three quarters of respondents being based in North America and Asia Pacific . A slight increase in the proportion of European respondents was observed as well as a small decline in the proportion of UK-based respondents .
Overall , this year ’ s survey broadly depicts a positive outlook as the industry sharpens its focus on execution quality , leaving behind some of the emphasis on compliance brought about by the introduction of MiFID II . While many of the areas under evaluation have performed highly , the COVID-19 pandemic has been a powerful reminder that disruption and extreme uncertainty can never be ruled out . All asset classes have experienced movements in trading as a result of the economic turbulence this year , and the ability to reallocate funds between asset classes with ease is an important quality to mitigate risk and take strategic decisions . One industry insider described EMS as a ‘ cockpit ’ for traders during the COVID-19 crisis , providing technology to access analytics and liquidity . It is therefore important that EMS providers stay aware of the changing trading landscape and the obvious need for their solutions to be both innovative and adaptable .
72 // TheTRADE // Fall 2020