Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ Michael Roberts: ‘Be your own brand’

In an ever-evolving industry, Michael Roberts, head of North America FICC trading at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, has continued to secure success in his space. Following his Trader of the Year 2025 win, he catches up with Claudia Preece to unpack his journey to the desk, the importance of embedded collaboration across the trading team, and the role luck can play when you position yourself for it.

A look at markets through the buy-side lens

Looking ahead to the key themes expected to dominate 2026 as Q2 kicks off, The TRADE speaks to experts from Janus Henderson Investors, Jupiter Asset Management, Aviva Investors, Nordea Asset Management, JP Morgan, Andra AP-fonden (AP2), EFG Bank, and Ostrum Asset Management to hear their insights.

The era of the ‘lone cowboy’ on the trading desk is over

Claudia Preece sits down with Quoniam Asset Management’s Frankfurt-based trading desk, where a tightly integrated, multi-asset team combines quant discipline with hands-on execution. Acting as sparring partners to portfolio managers, the desk blends its specialist expertise with shared accountability - underpinned by data, technology and constant dialogue.

Europe’s T+1 countdown: Insights from the US

As the UK, EU and Switzerland prepare for a multi-market transition to T+1, automation, market nuance, and cross-regional coordination will be critical to navigating tighter timelines and global fragmentation, Mark Austin, principal head of trade support at Connor Clark & Lunn tells The TRADE.

Beyond the Data: Decision-support capabilities climb the outsourced trading agenda

With the response window for The TRADE’s Outsourced Trading Survey 2026 set to close this week, Claudia Preece takes a look at key findings from last year’s iteration and unpacks exactly where the buy-side is focusing their attention as priorities continue to be focused on execution quality above all else.

Fireside Friday with… T. Rowe Price’s Eric Brown

The TRADE catches up with Eric Brown, FX trader, T. Rowe Price, delving into the increasingly data-driven world of FX trading and unpacking how buy-side firms are reassessing how they evaluate algo performance.