Wednesday, February 19, 2020 Stamford, CT USA — Fixed-income dealers’ response to long-term challenges facing the industry could be working to the advantage of global investors.

As most banks around the globe face pressure to increase profitability, they are increasingly competing among a small set of dealers, new liquidity providers and, to some extent, electronic trading platforms for a share of existing clients’ volumes and revenues. That competition is fueling innovation by banks seeking an edge over rivals and benefiting investors in the form of new and better digital products and tools.

“The 2019 Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders in Global Fixed Income are at the forefront of the investment and innovation that is revolutionizing global bond markets,” says Greenwich Associates Managing Director James Borger.

At the top of that list of 2019 Greenwich Share Leaders is Citi, which bests all dealers in Overall Global Fixed-Income Market Share. J.P. Morgan is next, followed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and, finally, BoA Securities and Barclays, which are tied for the No.5 spot. Other dealers are successfully focusing on areas of relative strength. HSBC tops the list of Share Leaders in Fixed Income – Emerging Markets alongside Citi, followed by J.P. Morgan.

Citi and J.P. Morgan are the 2019 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Overall Global Fixed-Income Service. These two banks also share that designation for both Global Fixed-Income Sales and Global Fixed-Income Trading Quality, while J.P. Morgan alone claims the title of 2019 Quality Leader in Global Fixed-Income Research.

Among the developments transforming the industry are:

  • The Electronic Marketplace As more business goes electronic, dealer e-trading capabilities continue to be an important driver of customer flows.
  • Digitizing New Issues One of the best examples of the intense competition spurring dealers to action is the long-discussed move to digitize the new issue process.
  • Portfolio Trading Accelerates The proliferation of fixed-income ETFs and the subsequent boost in portfolio trading business represents another rare bright spot for dealers.
  • ESG Investing Increased demand by asset managers and owners for products that align with ESG-related initiatives are creating new opportunities for dealers, be it in more traditional products like green bonds or newer structured vehicles.

Click here for the list of 2019 Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders in Global Fixed Income.