Firms Shift Execution Venues During Turbulent September

Xtrakter, the fixed income market utility, said that according to the third edition of its league table of execution venues, there has been a shift in liquidity. This third edition tracks the movement of liquidity for both fixed income and equities during Q3 08 and provides a detailed analysis of where trading occurred during the turbulent month of September.

When reviewing equity transactions for the month of September, the firm noted that considerable swings occurred regarding which execution venues Xtrakter clients chose, with leading venues losing market share after week 36 (1 - 5 September 08); Chi-X Europe limited dropped from having 15.86% in week 36 to 10.03% by week 38 and then rising to 10.25% by week 39, LSE rose from 6.27% in week 36 to 7.58% by week 38 and then dropped to 6.04% by week 39, NYSE Euronext (Paris) dropped from 17.47% in week 36 to 14.64% by week 39 and Deutsche Kassenverein rose from 8.27% in week 36 to 9.19% by week 38.

Kevin Milne, CEO, Xtrakter, noted in a press release, “the dramatic incidents which took place in September such as the demise of Lehman Brothers, the nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley and the LSE connectivity incident all impacted on the market and are reflected in our league of execution venues.” The overall top 5 execution venues for equities for the Q3 08 as processed by Xtrakter were as follows; in first place was NYSE Euronext (Paris) with 17.44%, in second place was Chi-X Europe Limited with 12.21% and in third place was Deustche Kassenverein with 8.95%, in fourth place was the LSE with 6.91% and in fifth place was the Electronic Share Market with 6.26% of the total Xtrakter share. However OTC remained the preferred method of execution for Xtrakter clients during this period.

When reviewing fixed income transactions for the month of September, the firm noted that similar to the pattern observed with equity transactions, leading fixed income venues lost market share after week 36, with Tradeweb Europe decreasing from 2.24% in week 36 to 1.84% by week 38 and then increasing to 1.94% by week 39, NYSE Euronext (Amsterdam) rose from 0.51% in week 36 to 0.72% by week 38 and then dropped to 0.68% by week 39, MTS S.P.A dropped from 1.32% in week 36 to 0.86% by week 38 and Fonds Des Rentes / Rentenfonds rose from 0.18% in week 36 to 0.43% of the total Xtrakter share by week 38. Overall OTC increased as the preferred method of execution for Xtrakter clients during this period rising from 89.22% in week 36 to 90.52% by week 39.

The top 5 execution venues for fixed income for Q3 08 as processed by Xtrakter were as follows: in first place was Tradeweb Europe Limited with 1.95%, in second place was ICAP Electronic Broking (Europe) with 1.46%, in third place was MTS S.P.A with 1.42%, in fourth place was Bondvision with 0.52% and in fifth place was the LSE with 0.51% of the total Xtrakter share. Overall OTC remained the preferred method for Xtrakter clients to execute fixed income trades during Q3 08 representing 89.75% of the total Xtrakter share.