THETRADETECH DAILY THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH 2021
Buy-side
Amundi in talks to acquire Lyxor AM from Societe Generale for € 825 million
THE SALE OF LYXOR ASSET MANAGEMENT WILL BOOST AMUNDI AS A LEADER IN EUROPEAN ETFS AND CONCLUDE THE MAJOR RESTRUCTURE PROGRAMME AT SOCIETE GENERALE .
French investment bank Societe Generale has entered into exclusive talks with Amundi to sell its Lyxor Asset Management business for € 825 million as part of an ongoing cost savings strategy .
The deal is expected to be completed by February 2022 and includes Lyxor Asset Management ’ s passive and active management activities for institutional clients in France and globally , including exchange traded funds ( ETFs ) and alternative products .
Upon completion , Amundi will become a leading European ETFs group with a combined € 142 billion in assets under management and 14 % market share . It marks the final major deal for Amundi ’ s outgoing chief executive officer , Yves Perrier , who is preparing to step down after 10 years .
For Societe Generale , the transaction will conclude the bank ’ s refocusing programme , which was launched in 2018 . The institution has made sweeping cuts to its investment banking division in a bid to reduce costs by roughly € 500 million .
Societe Generale will create a wealth and investment solutions department to cover the
scope of the activities not part of the transaction that will be staffed by Lyxor teams also not included in the deal .
This new division includes structured asset management solutions for global clients and structure savings , asset management and investment solutions for its private and retail banking networks , said Societe Generale .
ETFs
State Street opens ETF trading platform to asset managers and broker-dealers
FIRMS THAT ARE NOT CUSTODY CLIENTS OF STATE STREET WILL NOW BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE FUND CONNECT ETF PLATFORM FOR TRADING .
State Street has opened its exchange traded fund ( ETF ) trading platform to all asset managers and broker-dealers , even those that are not a custody client of the organisation .
The bank said the Fund Connect ETF platform , which was previously only available to clients receiving securities services , will now be open to support all ETF issuers regardless of their service provider .
Fund Connect ETF currently serves 37 asset managers and 77 authorised participants – otherwise known as market makers such as broker-dealers .
The development builds on State Street ’ s recent expansion of its ETF servicing capabilities , with the platform now able to support all ETF trading jurisdictions across the globe including the US , Canada , Europe and Asia-Pacific .
It also becomes the latest product within State Street ’ s electronic trading platform suite , GlobalLink , to adopt an open architecture model .
Trading venues
Cboe gets green light from SEC to launch US equities periodic auctions
THE US EQUITIES PERIODIC AUCTIONS ARE EXPECTED TO LAUNCH AT CBOE DURING THE THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR .
Cboe Global Markets has received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) to introduce periodic auctions onto its Cboe BYX Equities Exchange .
The exchange operator confirmed its plans to launch a periodic auction system in the US in July last year , after being the first to launch the alternative trading venue in Europe in 2015 .
The periodic auctions allow market partici- pants to access frequent , price-forming auctions throughout the trading day , helping them find liquidity with a reduced market impact . Cboe said the launch was in response to increasing block-sized liquidity taking place off-exchange using conditional orders , adding that the auctions would provide traders with an on-exchange alternative to trade in size .
“ Outside of the opening and closing auctions each day , investors generally have fewer options to interact with natural liquidity , particularly when seeking to execute larger orders with minimum market impact ,” said Adam Inzirillo , senior vice president and head of North American equities at Cboe Global Markets .
Cboe was the first exchange to introduce the periodic auction in Europe prior to the implementation of MiFID II in 2018 . Under the regulation , restrictions on dark trading and the banning of broker crossing networks , provided an alternative venue for traders to navigate liquidity and execute transactions in compliance with MiFID II .
The exchange claims that the periodic auction is now the largest in Europe , accounting for 80 % of all periodic auction activity , with an average daily traded notional value of € 1 billion last year .
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