Majority of senior fixed income traders at buy-side firms managing $22 trillion consider move to electronic trading; existing adopters of Execution Management System (EMS) technologies believe they have a competitive edge
New York, June 26, 2023 — New research from Coalition Greenwich and TS Imagine reveals that while a majority of fixed income traders are considering a move to electronic trading, all those who have already shifted believe they have a competitive edge over their analog peers.
The new report Fixed Income EMS: The Time is Now is built on survey data from senior US buy-side fixed income trading professionals at firms with a total $22 trillion AUM. The findings show that advanced technologies now provide “meaningful advantages” to fixed income traders as they look to harness a host of new data channels.
From evolution to revolution: 100% of trading professionals believe their fixed-income EMSs give them an edge while trading.
The report finds that fixed income markets have reached a “tipping point,” as more senior traders intend to adopt digital trading. Buy-side fixed income traders are seeking sophisticated technology solutions to expedite their workflow, freeing them up to focus on the higher touch and more “human” element of their jobs.
TS Imagine’s TradeSmart Fixed Income EMS is poised to meet this new demand. The platform has seen exponential month over month growth in electronic bond trading volumes over the past 12 months, and total electronic bond trading volumes on its EMS surpassed $500 billion during the same period.
Powerful demand for advanced technology: time is money.
The new research also explores the drivers behind buy-side demand for more technologically advanced trading set-ups, finding that legacy methods are “seeing” an ever smaller fragment of the market – bringing significant limitations for traders and slowing down their workflows. The average fixed income trader spends a month and a half of time each year doing work that can be handled within a matter of minutes using an EMS. Bond traders could save 1,134 hours per year by using TS Imagine’s Tradesmart Fixed Income EMS.
Data as a competitive advantage, not a burden.
Fixed Income traders work with an overwhelming amount of data – each day nearly half a million quotes are sent to traders by the top 10 dealers. Coalition Greenwich’s research concludes that “An EMS is needed to tie all of these sources of information together to be sure the right protocol is chosen for the current time and order.” Game-changing analytical tools such as those offered by TS Imagine’s Tradesmart Fixed Income EMS give bond traders the sharpest competitive edge.
“We are experiencing an exponential increase in demand for our fixed income EMS as sophisticated traders look to streamline their workflow and gain the broadest possible view of the market,” said Rob Flatley, CEO of TS Imagine. “This report demonstrates that we are in the middle of a seismic shift towards electronic fixed income trading right now.”
TS Imagine Chief Markets Officer and Head of Fixed Income, Spencer Lee commented that “The fixed income market has now truly woken up to the huge benefits of electronification and this report is loud and clear: the train is leaving the station. Our TradeSmart Fixed Income EMS provides traders with an invaluable advantage as the market evolves at an ever increasing pace.”
Learn more about TradeSmart Fixed Income here: https://tsimagine.com/tradesmart/fixed-income/
About TS Imagine
TS Imagine delivers a best-in-class SaaS platform for integrated electronic front-office trading, portfolio management, and financial risk management tools to the buy-side and sell-side. Formed following the merger of TradingScreen and Imagine Software in 2021, TS Imagine innovates by drawing on nearly thirty years’ experience serving the world’s most sophisticated financial services firms through changing markets and a shifting regulatory landscape.
The TS Imagine team is focused on developing technology that empowers its clients to succeed every day, in every asset class. TS Imagine employs the best technology talent, alongside former senior traders who understand first-hand their client’s pressure points and how to address them. This complementary expertise, unique to the industry, enables TS Imagine to dive deep in areas such as data science, automation, and development. As a result, clients can focus on what they do best: generating and protecting alpha within fast evolving markets.
By offering a range of purpose-built solutions developed from the ground-up, TS Imagine technology has become an essential tool for the modern investor, working seamlessly across asset classes and geographies. With greater transparency, better efficiency, and infinite scalability, TS Imagine clients are empowered to circumvent distractions and avoid unnecessary tasks so they can maintain their focus on driving returns.