The TRADE 68 - Q2 2021 | Page 78

JP Morgan

JP Morgan offers clients a variety of equity algos , including Aqua for equities , Aqua Blocks for accessing block liquidity and JPM-X , a fully dark continuous crossing platform . In the first half of 2020 , the bank ’ s FX algos saw a 45 % increase in transactions via Execute , JP Morgan ’ s mobile channel . The New York-headquartered investment bank received 35 responses from hedge fund managers in this year ’ s survey , ranking the bank fifth place amongst its peers . Respondents came from Europe , North America and the Asia-Pacific . Nearly half of the participant funds using JP Morgan ’ s algos manage over US $ 10 billion in assets and twothirds of them trade at least half of their portfolios ’ value algorithmically . This year , JP Morgan ’ s average score of 5.72 dropped by 0.05 compared with 2020 and underperforms the survey average by 10 basis points . Compared to category averages , the bank failed to meet the benchmarks in all but execution consulting (+ 0.16 ), algo monitoring capabilities and order routing logic or analysis , both of which score just four basis points above the category averages . The firm received its highest score of 5.99 in dark pool access , whereas price improvement scored lowest at 5.41 . Year-on-year comparisons were mixed , the bank recorded its highest year-on-year growth in increase trader productivity (+ 0.44 ) and execution consulting (+ 0.35 ), yet recorded declines across eight categories , including customer support ( -0.56 ), price improvement ( -0.37 ), and cost ( -0.35 ). Despite this , scores across all categories remain in the Good range ( 5.00 – 5.99 ). When asked what additional features are wanted , hedge fund clients commented that they are in need of a better automated feedback loop for TCA , more advice regarding habits or approaches to certain types of execution , global cash market access in lit and dark markets and the ability to trade single-name swaps in global markets . In addition , features such as smart / auto auction engagement are highly desired .