MTS, one of Europe’s largest electronic fixed income trading venues, is to launch request-for-quote (RFQ) trading for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) via its multi-dealer-to-client MTS BondVision platform.
The new service will offer liquidity providers access to a diverse community of global institutional investors.
The platform will support ETF products listed on the Borsa Italiana and London Stock Exchange, both of which are owned by the London Stock Exchange Group PLC.
By offering RFQ as a new execution method in addition to the order book trading functionality currently offered by the two exchanges, MTS is seeking to improve the efficiency of executing these products and increase trading opportunities for all market participants.
MTS BondVision is an independent, broker-neutral platform that lets investors request quotes on ETFs from up to five dealers, enabling them to meet best execution requirements, reduce risk and enhance efficiency throughout the trade lifecycle.
ETF issuers available via platform will include Amundi, db X-trackers, ETF Securities, iShares, Lyxor, Ossiam, PowerShares, RBS, Source, SPDR and UBS.
Fabrizio Testa, Head of Product Development at MTS, said: “The addition of ETF products on MTS BondVision is a further expansion of our offering. It will provide our customers with access to these increasingly popular products, enabling them to meet best execution requirements alongside our leading-edge technology and extensive pre- and post-trade functionalities.”
Pietro Poletto, Head of Fixed Income Markets at London Stock Exchange Group, added: “This is a very exciting development for the Group. We are delighted to extend the trading opportunities for ETFs listed on our markets, which will offer institutional buy side participants an increased choice of execution methods for these highly popular products. The use of the request-for-quote system, via the MTS BondVision platform, will significantly enhance the efficiency of off-book trades and enable easy access for the global buy-side community in-line with their unique trading strategies.”
The MTS platform is likely to compete against a similar ETF trading facilities offered by Tradeweb and Navesis-ETF, a joint-venture between Nomura and Tradition.