2014 U.S. Equity Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders Revealed

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are tied for the number-one spot among brokers, with trading shares of 8.3%–8.5% in U.S. Equity Trading for combined high-touch and low-touch cash equity commissions with U.S.-based institutions as of early Q1 2014. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse round out the top five with identical market shares of 7.8%. These firms are the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in U.S. Equity Trading.

“In U.S. equities the main priority is getting paid for what you deliver,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Jay Bennett. “By maintaining their trading share in trading, some of the bulge bracket banks are now punching above their weight class in terms of their research presence. On the other hand, mid-sized brokers and research specialists that are now being paid in large part through CSAs must be careful that they are being adequately compensated for their research.”

In the increasingly important category of U.S. Equity Algorithmic Trading, the top position is held jointly by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which are used for algo trading by 60%–64% of institutional investors. J.P. Morgan, UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch round out the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in U.S. Equity Algorithmic Trading, tied with market penetration scores of 48%–51%.

Citi is the clear leader in North American Portfolio Trading, with a trading share of 10.5%, followed by three banks—Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley—tied with shares of 9.2%–9.7%, and then Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, which are tied with shares of 8.2%-8.6%. These firms are the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in U.S. Equity Portfolio Trading.

Greenwich Quality Leaders
Greenwich Associates asks institutional portfolio managers, analysts and traders participating in our annual research program to rate the quality of service and products they receive from individual brokers. In U.S. Equity Research and Analyst Service, J.P. Morgan and Sanford C. Bernstein receive top scores and are the 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders among institutional portfolio managers and Sanford C. Bernstein claims that title alone among institutional analysts.

The 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders in U.S. Equity Trading are Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders in U.S. Equity Electronic Trading are Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets.