In the search for liquidity, particularly whilst minimising market impact, a means to identify large trades and where they take place is key for the investing community. The regulatory changes in MiFIDII introduced the concept of Large In Scale (LIS). No, not not a post-Brexit way to limit fishing quotas, rather a means to identify large transactions in financial instruments. In the equity landscape this has resulted in some confusion post-Brexit. Depending on the activity in each individual stock, an LIS threshold was set, above which the trade could be classed as a block trade. As Broker Crossing Networks were abolished at the same time, this LIS threshold was applied as one of the permissible justifications of many venues supporting dark trading.
We’re not too sure what all the excitement is about… at big xyt we have been researching the changing shape of the dark landscape for years. In fact, rather like long established theories, on the face of it European dark trading volumes have remained relatively steady. Our team of curious data scientists likes to help the trading community to explore a bit deeper and it’s easy to see that Pan-European dark volumes have been in a fairly tight range with around 8% share of adjusted (our proxy for addressable volumes) for some time, only getting squeezed temporarily with the onset of double volume caps in mid 2018.
Navigating the choppy waters of ETF liquidity is challenging and requires visibility of all available trade mechanisms. The chart below looks at the European ETF universe however the picture changes
Great article in The TRADE today on the launch of Kepler Cheuvreux’s new electronic trading platform which integrates with big xyt’s execution analytics, including TCA, which the firm installed last year in a bid to gain more control over its data. The big xyt analytics platform was delivered via our powerful API and allowed Kepler Cheuvreux to add its own proprietary data layer, including trade and order history for compliance and best execution needs.
It’s now almost four months since the UK exited the EU, and from a trading and market infrastructure perspective, a clearer picture of the post-Brexit landscape is starting to emerge, although there are still many uncertainties that lie ahead. Mark Montgomery was interviewed by Mike O’Hara, A-Team Insight Special Correspondent, to get big xyt’s market structure insight on post-Brexit liquidity.
Welcome to our latest quarterly survey of market volumes and fragmentation trends in European equities. Following a desolate second half in 2020 and despite ongoing Covid-19 and Brexit-related uncertainty, the first quarter of 2021 saw a return to some kind of normality in market volumes. View the complete report
Academics from Brains Trust predict market launch will quench investors’ thirst for trading to stay local. (Special note: this was an April Fool’s Day post) Flushed with success from the Six Nations Championship a new stock market is being proposed for Welsh investment in Welsh companies. Behind the initiative is the recently formed Welsh Industrial National Development group for Under Performance. Passive funds will be able to track the Taff Index made up of Strong Companies Repositioning for Upward Movement following the top 15 constituents from a total squad of 23.
We’re pleased to share that big xyt has been featured in Harrington Starr’s The Most Influential FinTech Companies 2021 list in the latest issue of The Financial Technologist magazine. Our very own Mark Montgomery contributed the article “Data is Becoming More Complex – Are You Keeping Up?” (on Page 38). Featuring the brightest and most dynamic companies in the industry, this listing is particularly poignant as we see and hear from companies that have not only survived the pandemic, but come through stronger, bigger and even better than they were before.
The big xyt Microbites series is for those who are unfamiliar with the European market structure or need a refresher. In this third episode we look at dark trading in Europe and the unique rules that limit the activity. We recommend that you read the previous episodes if you are unfamiliar with any of the terms used here. View the article
We are pleased to announce that we have won the Best Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) Tool in the A-Team’s TradingTech Insight Awards Europe 2021. View the full winners report here. The Liquidity Cockpit put big xyt on the map as an independent reference for equity market structure and has also been a building block for more accurate benchmarking of global execution strategies. Our Open TCA offering for execution analysis is redefining independent analysis with optimal flexibility for the user.
