Jul-Sep 2008, Issue 17

What makes a trader smart? For Bertil Meijer, head of equity trading at pension asset manager APG Investments (formerly known as ABP), it has little to do with the battery of tools at the trader's disposal and a lot to do with the intrinsic ability to spot an inflection point in the market, grasp an opportunity, and know when, where and how to best execute a trade.

At first glance, the European market's adoption of the maker-taker pricing model looks positive for the buy-side as price reductions take hold. But can a fee structure designed to influence brokers' choice of venue truly be in asset managers' best interests?

Richard Balarkas, CEO of Instinet Europe, examines how the variable take up of smart routing in Europe is more a reflection of the business models of major brokers, than a true reflection of the trading opportunities created by the fragmentation of liquidity.

A successful electronic trading strategy requires close collaboration between buy- and sell-side. Siobhan McManus, head trader, UK and European equities at AllianceBernstein Limited, and Chris Jackson, director of EMEA execution sales, Merrill Lynch, explain.

Chris Marsh, head of AES trading and product development in Europe, Credit Suisse, explains why the CS approach to dark pool interaction differs from many of its peers.

Bob Moitoso, global head of the FIX Division at NYFIX, Inc. looks at how the much-maligned IOI is undergoing a renaissance through the introduction of a new generation of 'actionable' IOIs and IOLs (indications of liquidity).

Chris Martins, director of marketing at Progress Apama, and John Bates, managing director, Progress Apama, look at how the global battle for liquidity has entered a new phase.

In the fastest growing area of equity trading, how do buy-side traders choose their algorithmic providers and ensure they are offering the best execution available, ask David Sillars, head of Alpharithms Trading, Louis Capital Markets.

With high speed, low cost execution fast becoming a commodity service, smart order routing promises to serve as a differentiating factor among trading venues competing for order flow, writes Feroz Cader, vice president and head of product management, trading systems, MillenniumIT.

How are buy-side traders fairing in the post-MiFID world? Peter van Wely, head of Inforeach Europe, examines the opportunities open to the buy-side in the new trading environment.

Robert Sher, managing director, ESP Technologies, examines how the costs associated with algorithmic trading and market fragmentation are driving asset managers to look for economies through outsourcing on their middle and back offices.

Turquoise CEO Eli Lederman issues a call to traders to work with the new execution venue to vanish the last remnants of the old market structure and replace it with a progressive trading environment that provides real value – value that can be precisely and accurately measured.

One year on from MiFID and Artur Fischer, Joint CEO of Equiduct Trading, looks at how new execution venues have embraced the changes trumpeted by the Directive and are starting to deliver tangible benefits to customers.