Janak Patal, execution consultant, Aquis
In 2026, demand for higher quality data on liquidity will rise. The breadth of available datasets must now expand to match the sophistication of participants who want more transparency and insight. The current focus on headline volumes is being replaced by a demand to understand where quality liquidity resides.
Venues will look to increase the value add of their data products to promote unique liquidity opportunities and use data to innovate in their trading books, releasing features which address inefficiencies of the market, reduce market impact, and improve execution costs.
Venues that can provide this granular transparency, while finding the right balance between sufficient anonymity and offering valuable colour will capture market share. This year, we saw several venues release flow analytic products, and Aquis will launch one early next year.
We anticipate a push to differentiate SI flow from true addressable liquidity. Aggregate volumes have long obscured the reality of market structure, combining SI flow with addressable on-exchange liquidity.
We have done major work to clean up the publicly available data and found that on-exchange liquidity is deeper than previously conceived. On Venue market share increases from 50% to 59% once you remove identifiable technical trades (NPFT flagged trades) and breaking down off venue accessibility. This shift in perception is something we expect to reshape routing strategies next year.
Munish Gautam, global head of trading platforms product management, Broadridge
The OMS and EMS landscape is shifting from monolithic, all-in-one systems toward more componentised and modular architectures.
Relentless pressure from shrinking commissions, evolving regulations, exploding trading volumes, volatility, and multi-asset convergence requires unprecedented efficiency and adaptability, driving this fundamental overhaul of the trading technology stack.
To thrive in this shifting environment, scalability, and trust matter more than ever before. Firms need a fully integrated, front-to-back platform that unifies multi-asset risk management, high-touch, and electronic trading within a seamless workflow.
Success will not come from intractable systems, but API-powered platforms that are flexible, interoperable and connect order management and low-latency execution into one ecosystem, which also includes intelligent execution powered by robust data, trader AI copilots, and tight governance.
In markets defined by fragmentation and rapid change, success demands speed, resilience, and innovation. The margin for error will depend on trading functions that are open and integrated through API-first architectures delivering flexibility, efficiency, and innovation across multi-asset trading workflows.
Peter Gargone, founder and chief executive, n-Tier
After years of rising reporting demands and shifting expectations from global regulators, 2026 is shaping up as the year firms move decisively from reactive compliance to proactive, data-driven control.
Supervisors are widening their focus, looking for consistency not just within individual rule sets but across desks, systems and asset classes. That pressure is pushing institutions to strengthen data foundations, modernise validation workflows and remove the manual bottlenecks that have long limited their ability to keep pace with regulatory change.
Over the past year, firms have accelerated efforts to validate data earlier in the reporting lifecycle, build stronger audit trails and align compliance, operations and technology teams around centralised infrastructure. That momentum will only grow as reporting regimes evolve and trade volumes expand.
AI is also starting to play a more meaningful role, not as a shortcut but as an extension of resilient data architecture. In 2026, firms that embrace scalable validation and intelligent automation will be best positioned for what comes next.