11 March 2014

Hedgeweek: Improved post-trade automation needed in exchange-traded derivatives market

A study by Greenwich Associates says that recognising the need for greater efficiency in post-trade process, derivatives market participants are prepared to make investments to handle increased trade volumes.

Despite the growing use of electronic messaging to confirm trades, less than half of buy-side firms confirm and reconcile their trades in real time and nearly two-thirds of investors use manual methods including phone, email, fax and instant message, slowing the clearing and settlement process and increasing risk. Many factors are driving increased trade flow volumes in the ETD market, and while regulations will continue to impact trading behaviour in the next few years, participants stated that traditional market factors are set to have a more significant impact on cleared derivatives markets going forward.

Roughly 80 per cent of institutional investors say their changes in product usage are due to shifts in asset allocations and/or fund performance. Nearly one-third of buy-side participants report a shift from over-the-counter (OTC) products to futures, and market data tells us that this number is likely to grow. A potential leading indicator, CME saw an increase in volume of 11 per cent in Q4 2013, with rate products seeing a 29 per cent jump.

To address the issue, buy-side participants are increasingly spending on cleared derivatives processing. Greenwich Associates found an average spend of USD 800,000 annually on cleared derivatives processing. In North America, nearly 60 per cent of this budget is spent on human resources, with the rest spent on technology. Over 80 per cent of respondents say they have no plans to hire new resources, but instead plan to focus budget dollars on new systems to help streamline the process.

This is not the case in Europe. With EMIR implementation now getting under way and MiFID II not yet finalised, money managers in Europe are planning for a dramatic increase in spending - doubling in many cases - to ensure compliance and capacity in the next few years. Reporting complexities are high on the priority list in 2014, with increased volumes expected in 2015 and beyond as clearing mandates finally settle in.

“In order to prosper in the exchange traded derivatives market, industry participants must ensure they have automated solutions in place that mitigate risk, process post-trade transactions consistently across all clearing methods and asset classes, and meet evolving regulatory demands and industry best practice", says Ted Leveroni, executive director of derivatives strategy & external relations at Omgeo. “Automation is the only way to bridge the gap and drive consistency and operational excellence across a firm.”

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