The TRADE 68 - Q2 2021 | Page 83

UBS

UBS was an early pioneer of electronic trading and provides access to unique liquidity , algorithms , execution consultancy , performance analysis and market structure expertise . Headquartered in Zurich , the firm ’ s suite of algorithms aids clients to minimise market impact and optimise performance . UBS received 38 submissions to its algorithmic trading solutions in this year ’ s survey , which in terms of number of responses , ranks the firm second amongst its peers . Clients were based mainly in the UK ( 47 %) and Europe ( 40 %), with 37 % of the respondent hedge funds managing upward of US $ 50 billion in AUM . Over 63 % of clients execute more than half of their total traded volume through algorithms . UBS recorded an overall average of 5.52 , which at -0.30 points is firmly below the survey average of 5.82 and represents a decline from last year ’ s score of 5.72 . Disappointingly , the firm underperforms the benchmarks across all aspects of service under review . Notable key service areas include anonymity ( -0.59), flexibility and sophistication of smart order routing ( -0.41 ), data on venue / order routing logic or analysis ( -0.33 ) and ease of use ( -0.19 ), where clients highlight the need for improvement by ranking the firm lowest across all providers profiled in this year ’ s results . Nonetheless UBS ’ scores for all categories remain in the Good range ( 5.00 – 5.99 ). Year-on-year declines were recorded in 11 service areas , with the firm seeing its scores in the customisation and anonymity categories falling significantly , by 84 and 69 basis points respectively . The good news for UBS is that year-on-year increases were observed in four categories , including algo monitoring capabilities (+ 0.33 ) and breadth of dark or alternative liquidity sources (+ 0.11 ). When it comes to features on the respondents ' wish list , some common requests are seen in the comments . For example , clients want smart / auto auction engagement , liquidity seeking algos and constant improvement in impact and outcome distributions .