Building on top of the increased electronification of the US corporate bond market over the past decade, trading automation is now the key focus area according to a new report from Coalition Greenwich.
The majority of surveyed participants (65%) told Coalition Greenwich that their primary technology priority for this year was automating parts of the corporate bond trading process.
The US corporate bond market saw trading volumes increase by 34% year-on-year, with average daily trade count up by 20%. Meanwhile, average ticket size was down 16% in the same time frame, and investment grade (IG) bid-ask spreads were down 44%.
These figures, although largely positive for investors, have resulted in the dealer community being required to become increasingly efficient in their client liquidity provisions.
According to the report, the push toward automation is twofold. Institutional investors are more…
