Tradeweb targets municipal bonds electronic trading with Investortools deal

Tradeweb Direct bond trading platform will be integrated with Investortools for portfolio management and credit analysis.

Tradeweb has teamed up with fixed income software specialist Investortools to integrate its bond trading platform with the firm’s technology, in a bid to drive electronic trading for municipal bonds.

The integration will provide the Tradeweb Direct platform, which offers trading and analytics in municipal bonds, US corporate bonds and certificates of deposits, with portfolio management and credit analysis tools to institutional investors, for straight through processing of municipal bond order flow executed by clients.

Tradeweb said that investment in separately managed accounts is increasingly being driven to municipal bonds, as retail investors seek tax efficient assets. Therefore, larger institutions are looking to interact with this order flow via electronic access and technology to navigate the converging liquidity.

“There is widespread investor interest in tax-free instruments, and we are focused on serving that demand with resilient and deep liquidity, and a robust platform that gives our clients the flexibility and scale they deserve,” said said John Cahalane, head of Tradeweb Direct. “The integration of Tradeweb Direct with Investortools is a significant part of our broader strategy to build and grow a modern market for municipal bonds that connects clients of every size with the technology and tools they need to transact efficiently.”

Tradeweb added it has expanded FIX connectivity for clients to aggregate dealer inventory and expand automated trading services to facilitate $47 billion in municipal bond trading, with more than 190 dealers and 280 clients exchanging 20% of all municipal bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB).

“We are delighted to collaborate with Tradeweb Direct to offer our clients the benefits of seamless electronic trading within our Perform software,” said Jon Anderson, chief product officer at Investortools. “Investortools is focused on building out a platform that allows our clients to keep adding AUM without adding headcount.”

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