Trades are expensive. Just ask any institutional fund that manages retirement savings, either here in the U.S. or anywhere in the world, as it goes about the business of managing retirees' money.
When so much money and so many trades are involved, the efficiency with which trades are executed can make a difference in how well a fund performs — and that, in turn, can translate to the overall health of a pension fund.
With that in mind, a new study from Abel Noser Solutions looks at the performance of brokers globally, evaluating "which brokers provide the best execution for institutional investors."
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Among other factors, ANS said its study evaluates brokers using placement strike price results that reflect the moment when the broker first received instructions from the buy-side trader. The brokers' performance was evaluated against their "trade-level" benchmarks to assess which brokers executed best when accounting for market conditions.
The top finisher globally was Liquidnet, which was at the top of both North American and European rankings; Credit Lyonnaise was at the top of the Asian-Pacific list. The next three highest in the rankings in North America were Fidelity, Investment Technology Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase, while in Europe the order was JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
Three agency-only brokers (Liquidnet, ITG and Instinet) made the top 10 list globally, while four (Liquidnet, Fidelity, ITG and Weeden) made the top 10 in North America.
"The common denominator among the brokers that topped this year's list was their emphasis on customer-centered agency trading and transparency over dark pools and high frequency trading," Ted Morgan, chief operating officer, ANS, said in a statement. "By investing in technology that increases liquidity and routes trades in the most effective way, firms like Liquidnet and ITG, which finished first and second in the world respectively, are adding significant value for their clients."
Added Morgan: "In today's competitive, fragmented and opaque market environment, it has become more critical than ever for institutional investors and plan sponsors to get the most out of every commission dollar they spend."
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