In cash equities, the buy-side voice is often lost in the cacophony of industry chatter from brokers, technology providers and venue operators, yet The TRADE is always striving to make that voice heard.
This year’s instalment of The TRADE Asia’s longstanding Algorithmic Trading Survey will feature a dramatic increase in the amount of buy-siders critiquing broker algos and smart order routers. Respondents to the survey have already provided more than 450 individual evaluations on algorithms used in Asia – over four times the number of assessments garnered in last year’s survey, emphasising the growing sophistication of investment managers in Asia when it comes to electronic trading. Let us know what you think of the sell-side’s algo offerings.
At an awards ceremony to be held in Hong Kong on 29 November, we will also be highlighting excellence in buy-side trading with two new awards – Buy-side Trader of the Year and Best Implementation Project. We encourage you to apply for this award and come to the event, which buysiders can attend for free if they register before 1 October (RSVP Françoise César, +44 (0) 20 7397 3821, francoise@thetrade.ltd.uk).
Another organisation heralding the buy-side’s views is the Asia Trader Forum, founded by Hong Kong-based George Molina, director of Asian trading at Franklin Templeton. Already tackling issues like the lack of a closing auction in HK and the state of indications of interests, Asia Trader Forum is already poised to help set the agenda in the region and make equities trading better for everyone.
Meantime, the newly-formed Asia Clearing Council (ACC), a new independent industry body focused on post-trade issues, is looking to raise awareness of how clearing affects the buy-side and come up with solutions to common problems. The brainchild of Barnaby Nelson, head of client development for banks, broker-dealers and corporate issuers in Asia for BNP Paribas Securities Services, the ACC is set to meet quarterly to address issues thrown up by the ever-changing financial market landscape in the region.
Now more than ever before, there are plenty of ways for the buy-side’s voice to be heard in Asia.