Big Data Analytics Utilities
Open Technology (API) Use Case
Forecast MOC Trading Costs for Projected Fund Growth
The Auction Market Impact API is the latest release on Virtu’s Open Technology platform and was created to help you integrate value-add analytics within your in-house processes and workflows. Using your programming language of choice, subscribers can leverage Auction Market Impact to help estimate the cost of trading in the open or closing auctions.
February 2021
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
FEBRUARY 23, 2021
European Market Landscape
In 2020, participants reacted to abnormal volatility by utilizing more risk-averse algorithm strategies, was it the optimal choice?
Three years post-MiFID II implementation, we examine how algorithm and venue usage has changed and stabilized in Europe. As traders dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic induced volatility, more scheduled-based algorithm strategies were selected—but was it the optimal choice?
January 2021
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
FEBRUARY 23, 2021
Special Report
Evolution of the Canadian Venture Market in 2020
Amid a record-setting year for Canadian equity volumes, securities listed on exchanges other than the Toronto Stock Exchange experienced the most rapid growth and underwent a transformation that appears to be driven by retail behavior.
4Q20 Nordics Cost Review
Aggregate equity trading costs in the Nordic region continued to fall in Q4, having peaked in the first quarter of 2020. Lower trading costs and commission rates were seen in all countries, except for Norway.
FEBRUARY 23, 2021
Implementation shortfall (IS) trading costs fell by 8% on average to 40.7bps in the Nordic region—the lowest level since 4Q 2019—and below UK costs (54bps), but higher than Europe ex-UK costs (38bps). Also, there was a 10% decrease in average commission rates ( 4.3bps), the lowest level seen so far in the region.
4Q20 FX Global Cost Review
Realised costs for both spot and forwards trending down from 1Q 2020 highs
FEBRUARY 11, 2020
Q4 forward spreads remained steady against Q3. Spot widened slightly due to increased volatility from US elections, EU-UK trade negotiations and a return to Covid lockdowns. But still held below Q1 and Q2 figures.
4Q20 Equities Global Cost Review
Aggregate global trading costs decrease as spread and volatility settle in at new post-peak levels
FEBRUARY 11, 2020
US volatility and spreads increased over the quarter, reversing the downward trend from March highs and raising the global aggregate. Implementation shortfall costs from more than 180 institutional investors shows that costs in the US increased 12% in the quarter and global costs increased 6% to 43bps. The high cost of trading Tesla stock added to the aggregate US costs. Still, US and global costs remain lower than observed in 1Q and 2Q 2020.
December 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
JANUARY 26, 2021
Virtu Analytics
Observable Year-End Market Trends
November 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
DECEMBER 18, 2020
3Q20 FX Global Cost Review
Realised costs for both spot and forwards trending down from 1Q 2020 highs
DECEMBER 2, 2020
Realised costs (client paid spreads) for both spot and forwards have continued to come down from 1Q 2020highs brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Market spreads remain high, however Virtu’s FX Global Peer Group database participants are paying just over half the market spread on average. Spot costs have been very competitive, whereas forward realised costs were only 0.1 basis point above pre-pandemic levels.
3Q20 Equities Global Cost Review
Aggregate global trading costs decrease as spread and volatility settle in at new post-peak levels
DECEMBER 2, 2020
Global volatility and spreads stabilized in Q3, bringing IS costs down from previous highs. However, trading costs remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Implementation Shortfall costs (weighted average execution price vs. order arrival price) from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global costs decreased 10% to 40bps, and costs in the US decreased 13%, seen throughout the capitalization range.
October 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
DECEMBER 1, 2020
2020
Annual Commission and Research Survey Results
160+ buy-side respondents across the Americas, Asia and EMEA share their views on research, MiFID II, unbundling, execution and Covid-19.
September 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
OCTOBER 12, 2020
Conditional Routing— What You Should Ask Your Brokers
The conditional order type is a useful and popular tool for seeking block liquidity while also helping to reduce execution costs and the associated potential for information leakage. Despite the order type’s widespread adoption, the conditional order ecosystem is often misunderstood.
August 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
AUGUST 26, 2020
2020 Fair Value Trigger Survey Results
Providing Insights into Industry Triggering Practices
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020
Launched in 2009, Virtu’s Fair Value Trigger survey was created in response to client demand for meaningful industry triggering data and continues to evolve by quantifying changes within the industry. Insight into how fellow asset managers approach triggering provides a competitive edge not found elsewhere—an especially valuable input as firms look to balance factors such as valuation accuracy versus operational burden.
Virtu Content Watch Series:
Market Close Watch
An all-new interactive infographic that completely transforms how you view the global market close auctions. Combine what you see by region or date.
2Q20 FX Global Cost Review
Forward point volatility persisted into Q2 as a result of the pandemic, keeping market spreads high
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
The high volatility and spreads associated with the Coronavirus pandemic continued into the beginning of Q2, with some regions experiencing cost relief during the quarter while others continued to see higher costs. Transaction costs from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global IS costs decreased 8% to 46 bps, and costs in the US decreased 10%, primarily driven by the reduced cost of trading mid and small cap equities. By comparison, IS costs in Asia Pacific ex Japan increased by 3% to 45 bps and Europe ex UK costs increased 9% to 50 bps.
2Q20 Equities Global Cost Review
Aggregate global trading costs mixed as Coronavirus pandemic’s high market volatility and spreads level off in early Q2
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
The high volatility and spreads associated with the Coronavirus pandemic continued into the beginning of Q2, with some regions experiencing cost relief during the quarter while others continued to see higher costs. Transaction costs from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global IS costs decreased 8% to 46 bps, and costs in the US decreased 10%, primarily driven by the reduced cost of trading mid and small cap equities. By comparison, IS costs in Asia Pacific ex Japan increased by 3% to 45 bps and Europe ex UK costs increased 9% to 50 bps.
2Q20 Nordics Cost Review
Nordic trading costs decreased as
pandemic-induced high market volatility and
spreads level off in early Q2
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
High volatility and spreads associated with the pandemic eased off in Q2, with all Nordic countries experiencing cost relief except for Sweden during the quarter. Implementation Shortfall costs (weighted average execution price vs. order arrival price) from more than 180 institutional investors shows that Nordic costs decreased 22% to 45 bps compared to the 8% decrease observed in the aggregate Global Peer database.
Systematic Internalisers in Volatile Markets
The volatility experienced during the first half of 2020 prompted changes to the way algorithms interacted with various liquidity sources
SEPTEMBER 7, 2020
In Europe, one liquidity source available to algorithms are Systematic Internalisers (SI). In this paper, we examine how SI operators adjusted their liquidity provision over the volatile period, and how Virtu’s Frontier execution algorithms adapted their interactions.
July 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
AUGUST 26, 2020
June 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
AUGUST 10, 2020
May 2020
Global Equities
Market Structure Monthly
JUNE 12, 2020
FX Algorithms
A useful addition to your execution toolkit
MAY 27, 2020
Virtu’s proprietary FX transaction cost data (TCA) was used to examine the suitability of FX algos
versus competitive bids.
1Q20 Global Cost Review
Aggregate global trading costs increase sharply as volatility and spreads surge
APRIL 27, 2020
Transaction cost data from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global IS costs increased 45% to 52bps, and US costs increased42%to 48bps. Costs in all regions increased due to the volatility associated with the CoronavirusPandemic, reaching levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
March 2020
Us and Canada Market Structure Monthly
APRIL 14, 2020
4Q19 Global Cost Review
Aggregate global and US equity trading costs increase following three quarters of decline
MARCH 5, 2020
Transaction cost data from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global IS costs increased 8% to 36bps, and US costs increased 12% to 33bps. Increased costs in the US offset declines in Europe and developed Asian Markets.
3Q19 Virtu FX Global Cost Review
JANUARY 5, 2020
FX transaction cost data from over 55 institutional investors shows that global G10 currencies cost 0.3 bps and emerging markets cost 0.8 bps for US$5m against the market-mid.
Virtu’s FX Peer Universe is anonymized and normalized to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison. Costs are measured as the spread costs of executions against the quoted market mid-price at the time of execution.
Auld Lang Syne
Should year-end trading volatility be forgot, we bring them now to mind
DECEMBER 16, 2019
Typically, trading volumes taper off as the year ends but 2018 still had some surprises in store. This review highlights observable trends in both market volumes and transaction costs in North America, EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions over the last two weeks of the year.
3Q19 Global Cost Review
Aggregate global equity trading costs continue to edge downward, while costs rise in Europe
DECEMBER 10, 2019
Transaction cost data from more than 180 institutional investors shows that global IS costs decreased 1% to 34bps, and US costs increased 2% to 30bps. Transaction costs decreased in all regions except for the US and Europe.
Post MiFID II Survey Results
JULY 19, 2019
Virtu recently asked its buy side clients to participate in a voluntary survey meant to evaluate the possible impact of MiFID II on how market participants produce, consume and pay for research.
Navigating Conditional Orders
Solving the ironic challenge of increasing choices
MAY 14, 2019
Once dominated by human traders, conditional order types have become widely used by both buy-side and sell-side routers as an important means of sourcing block liquidity in Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs).
Measuring SI Performance
MAY 1, 2019
Systematic Internalisers (SIs) are a significant source of liquidity in today’s MiFID II world, but there is a lot tounderstand before investors can maximize the benefits and transparency provided by SIs. In this article, we provide insight into how, when and why Virtu’s algorithms incorporate liquidity from SIs and how we measure performance.
4Q18 Global Cost Review
FEBRUARY 06, 2019
Increased equity volatility in the final quarter of 2018 gave rise to the highest trading costs observed in the previous 12 quarters.
ESMA’s Call for Evidence on Periodic Auctions for Equity Instruments
JANUARY 24, 2019
On 9 November 2018 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a call for evidence on periodic auctions for equity instruments. In addition to submitting its own response to the consultation, ITG has analysed the public responses from other participating firms and industry associations.
Read ITG’s full response and ITG’s analysis of public responses >
Indexing: Phantom Promotions, Defiant Demotions
JANUARY 09, 2019
As passive investing continues to grow, so too has the impact of index changes. For the largest US companies, passive managers may hold more than 20% of a company’s public float.
Venue Landscape Shifts in Europe
DECEMBER 10, 2018
Since the implementation of MiFID II on 3 January and the Double Volume Caps (DVC) on 12 March of this year, the European equity venue landscape has gone through some significant changes.
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