Roe replaces Wyley at Jefferies

By

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September 26, 2025

Lucy Roe, vice president of equity sales, Jefferies

Lucy Roe has joined Jefferies as vice president of equity sales. She is based in London.

Roe replaces Lorraine Wyley, who left the firm for a high-touch equity trading role at Goldman Sachs in early September.

Jefferies reported US$250.9 million in equity underwriting revenues for H1 (ending 31 May) – down 45% year-on-year (YoY). The capital market business reported US$935.3 million, up 18% YoY.

Roe has more than five years of experience and joins the firm from HSBC, where she has been a technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) equity sales specialist since 2024. She began her career in a similar position at Berenberg.

US IPOs enjoyed summer surge, prompting heavy trading

By

Etienne Mercuriali

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September 25, 2025

For traders, newly minted stocks are like fireworks that dazzle on their first day as volumes spike, before sputtering out into low-turnover obscurity. The summer of 2025 saw such a flurry of activity as US IPOs reached a record quarterly average volume of US$8bn.

2025 IPO activity has been strong in the US despite the April tariff shock. Priced IPO proceeds reached US$41.3bn year to date through August, up 41% on the same period of 2024, with US$19.8bn, up 61% year on year, of new equity sold to investors over the summer window, June–August.

The year’s largest US deals, according to Bloomberg, are in energy and information technology: Venture Global, the Gulf Coast LNG developer, priced lower than expected in January and raised US$1.8bn after having been scaled back; on the first day of trading, twice the 70-million-share float traded, and the stock has since been trending lower to US$14, with average daily volume (ADV) now at 8.5 million shares a day. Global Trading defines the IPO volume ratio as day-one volume/long-term ADV after day one. For VG this sits at 8.25.

In information technology, CoreWeave, the AI-infrastructure “hyperscaler”, listed in March, also after having been scaled back, and raised US$1bn, trading 41 million shares compared to the offering size of 40 million shares. The stock has traded up all year to US$130, as we write, with increasing participation. Its IPO volume ratio is now 1.3.

Figma, the design-software platform, listed at the end of July and its IPO volume ratio is now 8.05.

Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” platform, raised US$1.4bn earlier in the year, with trading activity fading fast and its IPO volume ratio now up to 16.

European activity has remained subdued despite the European Commission and the British government trying to increase appetite for European capital markets. Priced IPO proceeds totalled US$5.9bn in January to August 2025, down 52% from US$12.2bn in 2024. During the June–August window, issuance accelerated and reached US$1.6bn, 36% higher than the same months last year.

Among the largest deals in Europe, including the UK, according to Bloomberg data, Asker Healthcare priced US$1.0bn worth of stock for 126 million shares on 17 March. Its IPO volume ratio sits at 8.5. HBX Group, the travel-platform operator, sold US$776m on 7 February. Activity in the name faded fast after IPO day and its IPO volume ratio is now 55. Cirsa, the Spanish gambling conglomerate, issued US$533m on 30 June for 34.8 million shares, and trading slowed even further with its IPO volume ratio up to 80. Sectorally, issuance is strikingly different from the US, lacking the prevalence of information-technology names.

Continued steady stream of offerings in APAC, including the Middle East

Asia-Pacific, excluding India and the Middle East, has seen more robust activity all year. As of the end of August, proceeds, according to Bloomberg, were US$13.8bn, up 30% on US$10.7bn in 2024, with summer (June–August) issuance netting US$6.1bn, up 29% year on year. Larger prints covered a variety of sectors: in Japan, JX Metals, which specialises in semiconductor material, sold US$2.88bn worth of stock, selling 535 million shares and trading 176 million shares on its debut day, 10 March, with ADV now up to 28 million shares a day, having lulled after the IPO to about 5 million shares and showing renewed interest. LG CNS, the digital-transformation specialist spun off from LG, listed in Korea on 17 January and raised US$846m, with activity diving and its IPO volume ratio up to 22.

India is the standout country of issuance so far in 2025 in terms of growth. Indian rupee-denominated IPOs raised US$9.63bn year to August, a 67% increase on US$5.77bn in 2024, with a notable summer (June to August) recrudescence of activity of US$5.95bn, up 125% year on year. The largest IPOs include HDB Financial Services, priced 1 July for US$1.49bn for 169 million shares, which traded 80 million shares on its first day; ADV has now cratered and its IPO volume ratio is now up to 80. Carlyle relisted Hexaware Technologies on 18 February, selling US$1.04bn worth of stock in the IT-services company it had taken over in 2020. ADV is now 1 million compared to 18 million on its first day.

In the Middle East—comprising the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman—year to the end of August, proceeds were US$4.6bn, up 80% from US$2.5bn in 2024. The summer window contributed US$1.04bn but was only 9% higher year on year, compared to more marked growth elsewhere.

All figures are in US dollars and reflect currency of issuance, according to Bloomberg. Sectors are classified using MSCI GICS methodology.

Woods latest hire in Citi sweep

By

Lucy Carter

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September 24, 2025

Citi has named Jason Woods as a managing director and EMEA head of futures execution.

Covering high-touch and low-touch multi-asset futures across the region, Woods reports to Sam Baig, head of cash execution.

Citi has made a swathe of global hires in recent months. In the EMEA region, appointments include Jamie Miller and Abdul Satti being named as co-heads of electronic execution and Karl Purdy joining the firm as a high-touch equity trader.

Woods has more than 30 years of industry experience and joins Citi from Morgan Stanley, where he was most recently a managing director. Prior to this, he was a senior equity derivatives trader at UBS.

“Spectacularly stupid”: Buy side scorns 24-hour trading prospects

By

Lucy Carter

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September 24, 2025

Ben Ashby, chief investment officer, Henderson Rowe

Hungry for retail flow, market makers and venues are keen to offer all-hours trading to smartphone-addicted consumers. But seasoned buy-side traders warn that 24/7 could be more hindrance than help.

“I think it’s a terrible idea.”

So said Ben Ashby, chief investment officer at Henderson Rowe, when asked about the prospect of 24/7 trading at the Bloomberg Investment Management Summit.

“24/7 trading is not long-term, patient investing. Apart from maybe for a handful of global mega accounts, I think it’s a spectacularly stupid idea,” he continued.

The idea of continuous trading has grown in popularity as of late, particularly with the rise of retail investment and engagement with inherently 24/7 crypto markets. Last year, NYSE announced that it was moving to a 22-hour structure. In February, Cboe upped the ante with a 24/5 model for its US EDGX Equities Exchange.

“Talk about not learning our lessons,” Ashby added. “In the 1920s JM Keynes said that if the activities of your long-term investment become indistinguishable from a casino, don’t be surprised when there are casino-like outcomes.”

Ines de Tremiolles, global head of trading at BNP Paribas Asset Management, agreed, arguing that while many are keen to be able to trade Amazon in the middle of the night, they wouldn’t be getting a good deal.

“The way financial markets operate, you have to have buyers and sellers. At 2 AM, you’ll just have someone on one side, so you’ll end up paying a very high price for executing something that you could have just programmed for market open. It’s just like how you don’t have fish markets operating 24/7 – it’s a particular dynamic.”

While not enthusiastic about the prospect of continuous trading, Dermot Dunphy, head of EMEA equity dealing at M&G Investments noted that “there’s a certain inevitability to it.”

“There’s a newer generation who are able to invest on their phones, and they want the option to invest at any time.”

However, he emphasised the need for careful preparations to be made.

“We need set open and close times. We all have benchmarks, we all have NAVs to strike. We need to look at the situation, see what’s happening, if there’s liquidity that we need to be involved in. And, if so, how do we put the right processes in place? We have to adapt.”

Market infrastructure players are already trying to get ahead of the trend. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) plans to offer 24/5 clearing hours for the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) from Q2 2026, and the transaction securities information processors (SIPs) Operating Committees have been preparing for 24-hour operations.

Despite concerns, Ashby added, “Never estimate the power of a really stupid idea whose time has come.”

Wong joins JP Morgan Chase in HK

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

Christelle Wong, international equity sales, JP Morgan Chase

Christelle Wong has joined JP Morgan Chase’s international equity sales team in Hong Kong.

The firm reported a 15% year-on-year (YoY) increase in markets revenues for Q2 2025. Equity markets revenues were US$3.2 billion.

Wong has eight years of industry experience and joins JP Morgan Chase from BNP Paribas, where she has been an electronic and high-touch equities sales trader since 2022. Prior to this, she was a private equity analyst at venture capital and private equity firm The Sylvan Group.

Earlier in her career, Wong was a crypto trader at Hex Trust, an FX sales trader at Caceis, an equity sales trader at Raymond James and part of the fixed income sales team at Madrid-based financial solutions firm New Momentum.

FIX urges FCA to tackle duplicate trade reporting, NPFTs

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

The FIX Trading Community has responded to the FCA’s consultation paper on the SI regime for bonds and derivatives, calling for legacy issues to be addressed to improve post-trade transparency.

The FCA’s paper focuses on the SI regime for bonds and derivatives, with questions on equity markets included to inform an upcoming 2026 consultation on the asset class.

One transparency problem highlighted by the committee is duplications in trade reporting, which artificially inflates volumes. FIX recommends that off-venue EU trade reports should be recognised in the UK to reduce complexity.

In its response to the FCA, the committee said, “By suppressing the duplicate reporting, the FCA would not lose sight of the transaction (as it will still be eligible for Transaction Reporting in the UK) while the exemption would guarantee that trades executed in the EU do not inflate the OTC volumes published on the UK APA.”

FIX also suggests that there should be greater clarity around what can be flagged as a non-price forming transaction (NPFT). It states that NPFT transactions related to clearing and settlement activities should be omitted from the tape, as they do not provide information value for trading purposes.

Additionally, the committee raised a concern of its members that off-venue trade reports should include execution methodology.

It noted, “Manual benchmark trades have different accessibility profiles compared to systematically traded automated services. Our members would welcome a method for distinguishing between these trade types to support more accurate categorisation of accessibility, along similar lines to the “ALGO” flag mandated for on venue activity.”

The group has previously called for a stronger take-up of voluntary flags, stating that these would improve reporting transparency – particularly with the upcoming introduction of UK and EU consolidated tapes.

FIX also recommends that separate market identifier codes (MICs) should be used for mid-point and lit trading activity. This would ensure that market data quality is maintained following a proposal to reformulate the reference price waiver rules, which are intended to grant trading venues greater flexibility.

Considering other post-trade reporting issues, FIX called for clear and accessible data visualisations under the consolidated tape, alongside regulatory clarity around chain of order reporting requirements and cross-border reporting requirements.

Recent research from Global Trading highlighted the difficulties of handling post-trade data, and integrating it into future trading decisions.

FIX executive director Kaye noted, “Post-trade data quality issues create noise that makes it difficult for investors to make an accurate assessment of market depth and liquidity,” he said. “We have recommended clearer definitions and consistent use of trade flags to eliminate noise — such as non-price-forming or duplicative trades — and improve data quality, which in turn will improve investor confidence in market data.”

Holmes joins JP Morgan

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

Luke Holmes, equity sales trader, JP Morgan

Luke Holmes has joined JP Morgan as an equity sales trader. He is based in London.

JP Morgan reported a 15% year-on-year (YoY) increase in markets revenues for Q2 2025. Equity markets revenues were US$3.2 billion.

The firm has seen a stream of traders leaving for Citi this year, including Karl Purdy, Anand Goyal, Hooi Wan Ng and Andrew Bruce.

Holmes has more than 15 years of industry experience and joins JP Morgan from Clear Street, where he has been a managing director of high-touch sales trading since January. Prior to this, he was head of equity sales trading for US clients at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Earlier in his career, Holmes was an equity sales trader at AllianceBernstein and Goldman Sachs.

Bellamy joins TrinityBridge

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

James Bellamy has joined TrinityBridge as a multi-asset dealer. He is based in London.

TrinityBridge, formerly known as Close Brothers Asset Management, held £20.4 billion in assets under management as of year-end 2024. It was sold by parent company Close Brothers earlier this year alongside Winterflood Securities.

Nigel Stockton was named CEO of the company earlier this year, effective September.

Bellamy has more than 20 years of industry experience and joins the first from BNY Mellon Pershing, where he has been an equities and fixed income trader since 2021. Prior to this, he was a business operations manager and senior trust officer at BNY Mellon.

Earlier in his career, Bellamy was a multi asset dealer and equity ISA dealer at Coutts.

Jefferies and SMBC to launch joint Japan equities venture

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

A new memorandum of understanding (MoU) states the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Group’s and Jefferies’ intentions to combine their Japanese equities and equity capital markets businesses. The joint initiative will be operational from January 2027.

SMBC has expanded its equity ownership of Jefferies from 15% to up to 20%, maintaining a less than 5% voting interest, as the companies further their strategic alliance.

Jefferies took eighth place in Dealogic’s investment banking rankings by global revenues for the first nine months of 2025, with a 2.8% share of the market and a reported US$1.9 billion in revenues. In equity capital markets, it was in sixth place with US$315 million in revenues and a 3.2% market share.

It did not break into the top ten in APAC.

SMBC Group is also providing the firm with approximately US$2.5 billion in credit facilities. These funds will be used for overall support and for collaborative efforts between the companies, including EMEA leveraged lending, US pre-IPO lending, and asset-backed securitisation.

The companies have also shared plans to expand their coverage of larger sponsors across EMEA.

The announcement builds on a strategic alliance initiated in 2021, designed for cooperation on corporate and investment banking business opportunities. It was expanded in 2023 to cover mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, with a focus on investment grade (IG) clients in the US.

Later MoUs were signed to extend this agreement to the EMEA region, Canada, Asia and Australia, and to offer the firms’ joint coverage initiatives to larger global sponsors, pre-IPO companies and sub-IG corporate clients.

Freeman emerges at big xyt

By

Lucy Carter

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September 23, 2025

Mark Freeman has joined data provider big xyt as a sales director. He is based in London.

In Global Trading’s pre- and post-trade buy-side survey, 5% of respondents named big xyt as the best third-party provider for pre-trade analytics. For post-trade analytics, the company took a 4% share of the votes.

Freeman has more than 40 years of industry experience, and joins the firm after a three year sabbatical. He was head of electronic sales and sales trading at Kepler Cheuvreux between 2008 and 2022, before which he was vice president of institutional sales at NYFIX (now part of Broadridge Trading and Connectivity Solutions).

Earlier in his career, Freeman covered institutional and hedge fund sales at Portware, UK institutional and hedge fund sales at ITG Europe, and was head of UK sales at Instinet Europe.

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Lucy Roe has joined Jefferies as vice president of equity sales. She is based in London.

For traders, newly minted stocks are like fireworks that dazzle on their first day as volumes spike, before sputtering out into low-turnover obscurity. The summer of 2025 saw such a flurry of activity as US IPOs reached a record quarterly average volume of US$8bn.

Citi has named Jason Woods as a managing director and EMEA head of futures execution.

Hungry for retail flow, market makers and venues are keen to offer all-hours trading to smartphone-addicted consumers. But seasoned buy-side traders warn that 24/7 could be more hindrance than help.

Luke Holmes has joined JP Morgan as an equity sales trader. He is based in London.

James Bellamy has joined TrinityBridge as a multi-asset dealer. He is based in London.

A new memorandum of understanding (MoU) states the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Group’s and Jefferies’ intentions to combine their Japanese equities and equity capital markets businesses. The joint initiative will be operational from January 2027.

Mark Freeman has joined data provider big xyt as a sales director. He is based in London.

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