The Securities and Exchange Commission in December proposed the most-dramatic revamp of equity markets since Regulation NMS a generation ago. But it isn’t stopping there. Also on the docket: a retooling of the 25-year-old Regulation ATS and a potential ban on exchange fee tiers for agency orders. Meanwhile, the marketplace continues to evolve, with elevated retail participation seemingly here to stay, innovative new ATSs gaining market share and exchanges battling to hold their ground. How would behavior change if the SEC adopts its sweeping reforms? Will it heed industry calls to scale them back? Our distinguished panel of exchange, buy-side, and sell-side representatives explores all the angles.
Moderator: Justin Schack, Head of Market Structure, Rosenblatt
There’s plenty of angst to go around in European equities these days. New-issue activity has plunged, with major companies increasingly choosing foreign financial centers like New York for their IPOs. Secondary trading isn’t much better, as stagnant volumes render already brutal competition among fragmented venues and brokers all the more cutthroat. Meanwhile, post-Brexit regulatory divergence between the United Kingdom and European Union is making things even more complex and costly. Hand-wringing over capital-markets doldrums, however, may be driving interest in regulatory reforms — including a long-awaited consolidated tape and the re-bundling of trading commissions with investment-research payments — as potential fixes. Hear a diverse array of market participants share perspectives on what the future holds.
Moderator: Will Hadfield, European Market Structure Analyst, Rosenblatt
There’s a dark cloud hanging over cryptocurrency markets. But amid the vast wreckage of the past two years — from the massive collapse of FTX and its aftershocks to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s aggressive enforcement campaign against the industry’s biggest names — a host of market participants is shaking off the dust and planning for a brighter future. Our panel will present a range of perspectives on both the competitive landscape and the outlook for regulatory change.
Moderator: Andrew Bond, Senior FinTech Equity Analyst, Rosenblatt
Rarely have times been more challenging for buy-side trading desks. With US equity volume and retail participation still far higher than before the pandemic — and markets roiled by continued economic worries — every day brings the prospect of a new “meme” stock or macro shock to keep traders on their toes. Meanwhile, new venues, order types, and segmentation schemes continue to transform the execution landscape. And regulators have proposed massive market-structure reforms that could upend trading workflows, with more on the way. As if that’s not enough to keep head traders busy, margin pressure and consolidation in the asset management industry are a constant backdrop, forcing managers to do more with less and utilize ever-evolving technology to their advantage. In this panel, top traders from an array of institutions discuss how they stay on top of it all.
Moderator: Valerie Bogard, Market Structure Analyst, Rosenblatt
For much of the past two decades of market-structure evolution, critics have delivered a familiar refrain: too many venues, too little innovation. But lately, new players have arrived on the scene with unique approaches to pairing buyers and sellers, including AI-powered matching engines, parent-order trajectory crossing, and cutting-edge auctions. These venues have been providing traders with alternatives to standard price-time priority models — and gaining market share. Three CEOs of such pools share their views on today’s alternative-venue landscape and what tomorrow is likely to bring.
Moderator: Valerie Bogard, Market Structure Analyst, Rosenblatt
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed the biggest revamp of equity-market-structure rules in a generation, prompted by worries about rising off-exchange activity and conflicts of interest facing brokers amid surging retail-investor participation. But the SEC isn’t the only regulatory body grappling with such issues. Market watchdogs in a host of other jurisdictions around the world face similar challenges. How much dark, off-board trading is too much? When does order segmentation become problematic? How do reforms passed in the US affect the rest of the world, and vice-versa — particularly when some stocks are listed in multiple jurisdictions? Our panelists, senior officials from regulatory authorities outside the US, offer their perspectives on these impactful topics.
Moderator: Justin Schack: Head of Market Structure, Rosenblatt