Investment Technology Group (ITG), an agency brokerage and trading service provider, has launched its commission sharing arrangement (CSA) programme in Asia-Pacific, to help buy-side firms embrace best execution in the region.
ITG’s multi-currency CSA suite includes the unbundling of trading, commission management, consulting and administrative services.
According to ITG, use of CSAs in the Asia-Pacific region will increase as asset managers begin to unbundle research from execution, in line with their practices in North America and Europe.
For buy-side firms that prefer to manage their own process, ITG’s Broker Pay service provides an online portal for clients to view and manage all trade details, vendors, invoices, statements and trade history, as well as request the payment of research directly through the portal.
“As best execution becomes a global issue, asset managers are looking to unbundle purchasing decisions for research and execution, allowing them to select the best providers in each category,” said Bob Gasser, ITG’s CEO and president. “In the US, we’ve seen our CSA client base grow 41% this year as the neutral agency model is increasingly embraced in today’s market environment.”
“The Australian and Asian buy-side is now starting to understand that trading costs can have a significant impact on fund performance,” added Michael Corcoran, director of sales and trading for ITG in Australia. “Therefore, decisions on how and with whom to trade should be based on trading merit alone. By using CSAs to streamline trading through best execution providers, while still accessing the research they want, Asia-Pacific asset managers can now take advantage of the cost savings that new trading tools and technology are bringing to the region.”