ESG ETF trends

There is a difference between what people say and what they do. Companies are realising the importance of actions speaking louder than words and are beginning to focus on changing behaviours not just the “Values” statement on their website. Investments are no different as can be seen in our analysis today. Investment in companies with strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) mandates are already being grouped together by ETF issuers to facilitate easier investment in ready-made portfolios of socially responsible companies.

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European Equities Market Microstructure Survey Q2 2021

Welcome to our latest quarterly survey of market volumes and fragmentation trends in European equities. If you are unfamiliar with the topic, we encourage you to visit our website to read our Microbites series for an explanation of European market microstructure. With the major European indexes enjoying substantial price gains in H1 2021, we might have expected a similar boost in market volume. However the quarter just finished was the weakest Q2 in over four years. In this edition of the survey we have added a view of the ETF market, which by contrast has grown in volume terms by 6.5% versus 2020, albeit on a cross-asset basis.

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Is anyone else worried about this?

As a trailer for our forthcoming Q2 2021 survey of European equity market microstructure, we thought you might like a sneak peek at what’s been happening to fragmentation. Following Brexit and the divergence of dark trading rules, we have been monitoring the trend in the UK. The graph below shows the UK250 index where on-order book ‘lit continuous’ trading has reached a 5-year low in terms of the daily market share traded in June at just 28.5%, while auction market share is a whisker under the previous record high in December at 22.7%. Meanwhile, dark trading has risen to over 12% from 9% prior to October 2020.

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big xyt launches Market Microstructure in Practice with big xyt’s API

We have just launched the Market Microstructure in Practice for Equities with big xyt’s API interactive presentation on the big xyt Academy. If you are a quantitative analyst or developer, trader, portfolio manager, or anyone interested in market microstructure for sales and marketing, this could be of interest to you. Explore big xyt’s powerful and flexible API to see how convenient and reliable it is for conducting research and analysing market microstructure, as well as assessing trading performance and algos.

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When is a Block not a Block?

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.

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New dark pools map reveals cosmic mystery

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.

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Happy to surf the waves or curious to know what lies beneath?

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

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European Equities Market Microstructure Survey Q1 2021

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

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Wales to introduce independent stock exchange

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.

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Microbites #3 – Dark Trading in Europe

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

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