The first quarter always sets the pace for the rest of the year and if the last few months are anything to go by then the market should prepare itself for a steady boil. While recession fears and interest rate hikes which have plagued the last two years are on the decline, there remains a chance that things may bubble over once more.
The future macroeconomic outlook of many countries is uncertain thanks to the plethora of elections taking place over the next two years – around half of the world’s population has the potential to experience a change in political regime – and with that seismic shift looming there are undoubtedly going to be reactions that end up rippling into the global markets. Zoom in from the global macroeconomic outlook and it appears markets are also set to experience several other major regulatory changes – not least the shift to T+1 in the US set for 28 May.
This issue of The TRADE Magazine covers all this and more with in depth looks at how transaction cost analysis (TCA) is moving away from a compliance tick box exercise and becoming real-time tool in the execution process, the parallels between traditional and digital assets market structure and the likelihood that liquidity will likely follow suit as trading venues shift to the cloud.
This magazine also includes a write up of The TRADE’s annual Algorithmic Trading Survey Long-only which saw a record whopping 2,222 responses this year by 570 traders, and a write up of our annual Diversity and Inclusion Survey.
It wouldn’t be The TRADE Magazine without a large helping of exclusive buy-side content for you to sink your teeth into and this quarter we’re delighted to feature Bluebell Capital Partners’ head of trading Pete Papanichola and Robeco’s global equity trading desk as our cover star and Meet the Desk interview, respectively.
Take a look below for more detail on Q1 content:
Meet the Desk – Chasing innovation on Robeco’s global equity desk: ‘In order to stay good, we need to become better’
Annabel Smith sits down with the global equity trading team at Robeco to explore their global dynamic, the role of research on their trading desk and the race to stay innovative through better use of data and technology in the execution process.
In depth – Conscious usage of TCA: Making trade analytics more actionable
With data becoming unavoidably vital to the trading desk, Wesley Bray explores how traders are delving past traditional TCA and collaborating with data scientists on the desk to help gain a deeper understanding of market dynamics and make better informed trading decisions.
Buy-side cover interview – Keeping ESG commercial
Annabel Smith sits down with head of trading at activist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners, Pete Papanichola, to explore his path to activist investing and the importance of keeping ESG investment initiatives commercial to ensure their continued success.
Celebrating Women’s History Month with… Liontrust Asset Management’s Maddy Davies
To celebrate Women’s History Month 2024, Annabel Smith sits down with trader at Liontrust Asset Management, Maddy Davies, to unpack her journey to the trading desk, core skills for success as a multi-asset trader, and navigating the current liquidity landscape.
The TRADE’s D&I Survey 2024
Of the near 100 respondents to The TRADE’s 2024 survey, three quarters confirm that women make up just 25% of senior trading roles within their firms; “The industry still has some way to go,” concludes one respondent.
In depth – Digital assets and traditional finance: Can two parallel lanes converge?
As the growth of digital assets continues at a rapid pace, Wesley Bray explores its influence on traditional finance, market structure and trading practices, and looks at what can be learned from the asset class.
In depth – As cloud adoption across the market continues to rise, is the shift of liquidity itself next to follow?
As cloud adoption picks up pace across the capital markets industry, Claudia Preece examines what leading market experts think about the current state of play and what the future holds. Cloud providers are banking on the fact that exchanges moving to the cloud will effectively “drag” the rest of their surrounding ecosystem along with them, asserts one market onlooker.
Survey – The TRADE’s Algorithmic Trading Survey Long-only 2024: A more optimistic outlook for the algorithmic trading landscape
In a record year for respondents in The TRADE’s Algorithmic Trading Survey, the landscape has proven to be more promising, with respondents highlighting ease of use and customer support as a top priority, and only a handful of categories continuing their downward trend this year.
Closing Bell – Has the question of “buy versus build” become outdated?
Delving into the build or buy question – Ian Mawdsley, chief product officer at Broadridge Trading & Connectivity Solutions, uses Formula 1 to illustrate why this question has arguably become outdated.
Read the full issue here.