IPO issuance plummets post-tariffs

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April 30, 2025

IPO issuance was down 56% in April, closing out the month with US$4.1 billion across currencies according to Bloomberg data.

A total US$9.3 billion was issued in March.

The market bounced back somewhat in the final week of April, rising from US$2.3 billion as of 24 April.

The bulk – US$2.6 billion’s worth – of IPOs were issued in USD, while the Saudi Riyal took a distant second place with US$202 million.

Secondary offerings fell in tandem, with a reported US$10.4 billion across currencies as of 24 April. This figure was US$62.6 billion in March.

In the secondary market, the last offering exceeding US$1 billion came from broker-dealer LPL Financial on 31 March. The US$1.5 billion in common stock was listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Slightly earlier, on 24 March, a US$5.5 billion offering of Class B shares was made in Hong Kong dollars by technology company Xiaomi Corp, making the currency the second most used over the month.

The total value of IPOs year-to-date is US$63.2 billion. One of the largest contributors has been the Swedish Krona, which represented US$1.6 billion in IPOs since January. SEK was also the currency of the most recent IPO in excess of US$1 billion, issued on 27 March by Asker Healthcare.

Across European exchanges, IPO values fell by 36% year-on-year (YoY) to €3.2 billion in deal value over Q1 2025 according to the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) – significantly below the Q1 average of €6.4 billion that has been held since 2015. Secondary offerings, by contrast, were up 31% YoY to €30.3 billion.

Between October 2023 and 2024, Europe accounted for 10% of all IPOs globally. Considering the last 12 months, this figure has fallen to 7.4%.

On average, year-to-date European and UK exchanges have represented 10% of IPO issuance each month. In March they took almost a fifth (19.4%) of the pie.

This trend may be proving AFME right in its claims that the listing act introduced by the European Council in October last year, designed to keep IPOs in Europe, is not effective.

Considering the impact of US tariffs introduced at the start of April, AFME stated that, for the first half of the month: “IPO issuance and M&A activity have not been visibly impacted by the introduction of tariffs so far, as IPO and M&A deal values for the first part of April continued at levels similar to those observed in previous years.”

When questioned by Global Trading on this conclusion, a spokesperson for the association commented: “There was indeed a pause in the first half of April. However, it’s very challenging to attribute this only to tariffs since the European market has been quite subdued for several years now. One might have expected that the price dislocation would cause a significant drop in IPOs, but it’s hard to see a sharp decline in something that has already hit rock bottom! Interestingly, the number of IPOs in April 2025 is the same as in April 2024.”

Globally, 2024 data indicated that IPOs were concentrating in India and the Middle East.

According to Bloomberg data, year-to-date Indian rupee-denominated IPOs have contributed US$1 billion to the global total in 2025, surpassed by the Japanese yen (US$3.2 billion) and the South Korean won (US$1.8 billion).

Firms await research rebundling update amid FCA deregulation drive

By

Lucy Carter

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April 30, 2025

Mike Carrodus, CEO, Substantive Research

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to decide whether AIFMD and UCITS funds will be granted the same research payment optionality as MiFID-governed firms next month.

“Buy side firms have been on a MiFID II rollercoaster ride so far,” Mike Carrodus, CEO of Substantive Research, recalled. “There was a feeling that regulation has been too heavy, but now we may move to a place of greater flexibility for research budgeting, balanced with continuing controls around governance and value for end investors.”

“Without alignment across the rules governing both segregated mandates as well as pooled funds, the group that will or can go to joint payments is naturally constrained within a smaller universe,” Carrodus explained. “But what is the point of softening these rules if they are unworkable?”

“The whole point is to have a single process, otherwise the motivation to make the transition to joint payments will be removed for many,” he said. “Clients are hopeful that strategy- or firm-level budgeting for research for pooled funds will be confirmed this May but we’ll have to wait and see.”

In November 2024, the FCA’s consultation paper on the Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) 2 proposed relaxing its rules so that individual investors need only be informed, rather than explicitly consent to, changes in research payments.

“That concession was quite a big one,” Carrodus said. “It could be that making the second concession to budget at a strategy or firm level instead of a fund level felt like too big a step, so the consultation paper didn’t include it. That caused quite a lot of consternation.”

At the moment, many clients are “positively predisposed” to making the move, he said. “While many don’t want to be in the first wave of firms moving across, they’re now in the mindset of actively looking for things that confirm that this is going to be okay.”

“If and when we get the confirmation that strategy or firm-level budgeting in May is acceptable, it will be full steam ahead for earlier adopters. Not all of them will make it by the end of this year because, like all things, when you actually start a complex change process you encounter complications.”

He referenced Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s letter to FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi earlier this year, which emphasised the need to avoid over regulation and boost competitiveness of the UK market.

The deregulation drive is being adopted more broadly, with the FCA recently proposing slashing 70% of the regulatory capital rules text as it seeks to simplify its rulebook.

Regulatory capital rules require investment firms to hold an amount of capital in particular types of funds that will allow them to absorb losses and remain resilient during times of stress.

Initially designed for banks, the FCA states that the rules are overly complex and not suited to investment firms’ business models.

As such, it argues, the legal text can be condensed by almost three quarters. If accepted, the proposal will see EU-derived elements of the rules removed.

Capital requirements will remain unchanged, and the authority does not expect firms to change their capital arrangements as a result of the amendments.

TT sees continued support from SGX, CBOE after M&A option triggered

By

Etienne Mercuriali

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April 29, 2025

Trading Technologies’ path to compete against trading software giants like ION and FIS has received qualified backing, as its investing partners SGX and CBOE have so far declined to exercise call options to buy the firm. The potential acquisition had been flagged by analysts at BofA.

Trading Technologies (TT) was acquired by private-equity house 7Ridge in 2021. Cboe, a limited partner in the 7Ridge fund, negotiated an exit option that could be triggered either when TT hit pre-set performance goals or from 21 December 2026. Those targets were met during a two-month window that started January, meaning Cboe can now exercise the exit option and take over TT, otherwise TT will remain independent as it seeks to take on industry competitors such as ION Markets.

Speaking to analysts on a 2 May earnings call, Cboe CFO Jill Griebenow was non-committal: “We look at things that make strategic and financial sense. The option hasn’t expired, and we have not exercised it.”

A source close to 7Ridge said, “To develop TT in a direction that was good for the market, 7Ridge set expectations with the other investors via an agreed set of KPIs, based on TT’s development in a direction that would be good for the industry and for the market.”
SGX and CBOE as investors could potentially make their clients’ lives easier and therefore see more business by supporting the development of the system in that way, the source added.
7Ridge Investments 3 LP acquired TT in late 2021, in a deal that valued the futures-trading Order Execution Management System (OEMS) at US$500 million. Cboe supplied 40 per cent of the fund’s capital and has treated the stake as an equity-method investment ever since.
Under the partnership agreement, Cboe secured an exit option allowing it, or any other limited partner, to buy 100 % of TT once the business either satisfied defined revenue and profitability hurdles or after 21 December 2026. Cboe’s latest 10-K filing described the mechanism in detail, noting that if the LPs decline to exercise, 7Ridge can put TT up for sale to a third party instead.
That clock accelerated in January 2025 when Cboe disclosed that the general partner certified the performance goals have been achieved, and the option became exercisable.
Bank of America analysts highlighted the disclosure in a mid-April note:
“In their latest annual filing, Cboe disclosed that its exit option to acquire Trading Technologies became exercisable in January.”
The report adds that Cboe’s “dry powder spiked 28 % quarter on quarter,” giving the group ample balance-sheet capacity to fund a larger deal after years of sub-US$500 million acquisitions
TT itself has grown rapidly; revenues climbed from US$98 million in 2021 to US$170 million in 2023. OEMS transactions in comparable deals have cleared about seven- or eight-times sales, implying a potential valuation north of US$1 billion if the option was to be exercised at market multiples.
TT’s front end would be a way to deepen institutional use of its flagship SPX index-options franchise, where retail platforms account for about 90 % of customer flow, according to Bank of America analysts. They add that TT’s connectivity to seventy-plus venues and its futures heritage could accelerate that push.
The exchange is simultaneously litigating with the U.S. SEC after the regulator rejected Cboe’s proposal to exempt exchange-affiliated OEMSs from certain reporting rules. “Cboe is now litigating the matter in the Federal court system,” the BofA note reminds investors.
If the Chicago-based group were to have bought TT, it would have marked its first billion-dollar-plus transaction since the BATS Global Markets takeover in 2017.

Cboe, like CME have seen major growth in volume through retail involvements in markets.

Cboe Global Markets, Trading Technologies and 7Ridge declined to comment on the potential transaction.

Correction: this story has been amended to correct inaccuracies in the original version

Tiefenbrun takes on global role at Cboe

By

Lucy Carter

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April 29, 2025

Natan Tiefenbrun, global head of cash equities, Cboe Global Markets

Natan Tiefenbrun has been promoted to global head of cash equities at Cboe Global Markets.

The firm reported cash and spot market revenues of US$468.6 million for 2024, up 30% year-on-year.

Earlier this year, it announced its intentions to offer 24/5 trading for stocks listed on its US EDGX Equities Exchange (EDGX) trading venue, capitalising on growing domestic and international demand.

Tiefenbrun has been with Cboe since 2021, initially as head of European equities and most recently as president of North American and European equities.

Over a more than 20-year career, Tiefenbrun has held senior roles including managing director of European execution services and Bank of American Merrill Lynch, CEO of Turquoise, and head of products for equity and derivative markets at LSE.

David Howson, global president of Cboe Global Markets, commented: “Natan’s leadership will be important as we continue to activate and capitalise on the global network of equity exchanges we’ve built in recent years, driving growth, expanding our range of products and reinforcing our position as a pioneer in orderbook innovation.”

Programme trading goes electronic

By

Lucy Carter

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April 29, 2025

Buy-side desks are dropping high-touch sales traders in favour of algos for their programme trading (PT), Coalition Greenwich has found.

While PT’s share of the market has remained static at 13% year-on-year (YoY), representing approximately US$79 billion of average daily volumes, the degree executed electronically has risen from 35% to 46% since 2022.

Within PT, 26% of volumes use single-stock algos designed to trade lists. The remaining 20% use PT-specific algos. These volumes have been gradually increasing since 2020, then sitting at 18% and 16% respectively.

The former are becoming more sophisticated mechanisms, Coalition Greenwich stated, able to execute baskets as single orders. Survey respondents added that they were hesitant to introduce new, programme-specific algos when their clients were happy with existing mechanisms.

When choosing an agency PT platform, survey participants cited the minimisation of market impact as their greatest deciding factors. Sales coverage and electronic trading capabilities were also prioritised by a total 53% and 27% of respondents respectively.

A number of those polled noted that smaller brokers are losing out on market share as larger banks offer more advanced PT technology solutions.

Although the direction is electronic, high-touch sales traders still have a role to play in the PT landscape. Survey respondents acknowledged their importance in PT with non-US constituents, owing to stronger local market understanding. Internally to the US, their value is diminished.

Helen Boyd leads capital markets at FCA

By

Lucy Carter

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April 29, 2025

Helen Boyd, head of capital markets, FCA

Helen Boyd has been promoted to head of the capital markets department at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

In the role, she is responsible for the regulator’s listing transactions and primary market oversight operations.

Listing reforms at the FCA came into force in July last year, replacing the ‘premium’ and ‘standard’ listing labels with a single category and implementing simpler eligibility criteria for companies listing shares in the UK.

The UK has struggled with a long term decline in London listings, as US markets continue to attract new issuers.

The promotion follows the reappointment of Nikhil Rathi for a second term as FCA CEO, which was announced earlier this month. He has been asked by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to prioritise competitiveness and risk-taking in this tenure.

READ MORE: Rathi reappointed at FCA

Boyd has been with the FCA since 2008, leading the markets policy department. Recent work in the division includes the DP24/4 report on crypto asset regulation, a developing focus of the FCA.

Venkatraman leads trading tech at JP Morgan asset management

By

Lucy Carter

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April 28, 2025

Ashwin Venkatraman, managing director and head of asset management trading technology, JP Morgan Asset Management

Ashwin Venkatraman has been named managing director and head of asset management trading technology at JP Morgan Asset Management.

As of year-end 2024, JP Morgan Asset Management holds US$3.6 trillion in assets under management. Equities represent US$1,056 trillion of this figure, the company states.

Venkatraman has been with the firm since 2015, most recently as head of equity trading technology. He has also led the trading technology division for money markets.

Commenting on his appointment via LinkedIn, Venkatraman said: “The best thing working in global capital markets from sell side to buy side has been the people. The opportunity to build relationships and collaborate on complex problems has been a privilege and incredibly rewarding.”

Prior to JP Morgan, Venkatraman began his career with Goldman Sachs in 2006 as a futures execution developer. He began leading the 1D trading strategy team responsible for automation in equities risk business, in 2012.

JP Morgan Asset Management also recently appointed Geng Ngarmboonanant as a managing director in the multi-asset solutions business, specialising in global business investment strategy. Based in New York he reports to Zachary Page, head of multi-asset solutions for the Americas.

Ngarmboonanant was most recently deputy chief of staff at the US Department of the Treasury under Secretary Janet Yellen, advising on domestic and international economic policy.

EC’s SIU consultation – welcome but challenging

By

Lucy Carter

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April 25, 2025

Lara Shevchenko, senior policy advisor for market structure, FIA European Principal Traders Association

The European Commission has initiated a consultation on EU capital market integration as it pushes the savings and investments union (SIU) project ahead.

Officially adopted on 19 March, the SIU succeeds the capital markets union (CMU) as the Commission’s EU-wide market integration initiative. Aiming to encourage greater institutional and retail investors participation across the union, the project seeks to reduce cross-border investment barriers and subsequently improve the region’s economic competitiveness.

“People are aware of the barriers to integrated European capital markets, but this paper is seeking solutions including bringing up issues that have been tabled or compromised on earlier—for example, the benefits of greater pre-trade data depth in the equities consolidated tape. The Commission are also seeking to concretely address obstacles to competitive market maker participation on single market maker venues.”, Lara Shevchenko, senior policy advisor for market structure at the FIA European Principal Traders Association, told Global Trading.

“Hopefully it’s the start of a more substantive discussion. At the moment, it’s not actually proposing any solutions—it’s basically 80 pages of questions.”

Online, the consultation questionnaire has been split into two parts due to its length.

The consultation, which opened on 15 April, will close on 10 June. “It’s an ambitious consultation, and a compressed timeline,” Shevchenko commented. “It will be interesting to see what respondents can come up with in the time that they have.”

“There’s a lot of work to be done over the next few weeks.”

Barnes jumps from Stifel to Shore

By

Lucy Carter

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April 25, 2025

Sam Barnes, senior market maker, Shore Capital Markets

Shore Capital Markets has appointed Sam Barnes as a senior market maker.

Based in London, he covers large cap trading.

Shore Capital Markets holds more than £1.6 billion in assets under management. In 2024, its capital markets business reported £31.7 million in revenues.

Barnes has close to a decade of industry experience, and joins Shore Capital Markets from Stifel, where he was vice president of equity market making. Half his career has been spent at AJ Bell, which he joined in 2016 as a middle office analyst before becoming a collective investment dealer and later an equity dealer.

Chris Jackson promoted at Liquidnet

By

Etienne Mercuriali

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April 25, 2025

Liquidnet, the TP ICAP-owned equity block and agency execution specialist, has promoted long-standing executive Chris Jackson to global head of equities.

he elevation extends Jackson’s decade-long tenure with the firm, during which he has helped steer its EMEA equities franchise and shape global strategy.

Based in London, Jackson most recently held the dual post of global head of equity strategy and head of equities for EMEA; a role he assumed in August 2019.
He first joined Liquidnet in March 2015 as European head of execution & quantitative services after leaving Citi, where he ran EMEA execution sales from 2009.
Earlier, he held director-level trading and programme-sales roles at SBC Warburg and Merrill Lynch.

Announcing the move, Liquidnet said “[Jackson’s] leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale up our equities business globally and develop … solutions that combine deep liquidity access with intelligent execution.”
Confirming the promotion on LinkedIn, Jackson said he was “thrilled to take the reins” and will focus on enhancing the firm’s block-trading and algorithmic-execution offering for its buy-side member network.

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IPO issuance was down 56% in April, closing out the month with US$4.1 billion across currencies according to Bloomberg data.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to decide whether AIFMD and UCITS funds will be granted the same research payment optionality as MiFID-governed firms next month.

Trading Technologies’ path to compete against trading software giants like ION and FIS has received qualified backing, as its investing partners SGX and CBOE have so far declined to exercise call options to buy the firm. The potential acquisition had been flagged by analysts at BofA.

Natan Tiefenbrun has been promoted to global head of cash equities at Cboe Global Markets.

Buy-side desks are dropping high-touch sales traders in favour of algos for their programme trading (PT), Coalition Greenwich has found.

Helen Boyd has been promoted to head of the capital markets department at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Ashwin Venkatraman has been named managing director and head of asset management trading technology at JP Morgan Asset Management.

The European Commission has initiated a consultation on EU capital market integration as it pushes the savings and investments union (SIU) project ahead.

Shore Capital Markets has appointed Sam Barnes as a senior market maker.

Liquidnet, the TP ICAP-owned equity block and agency execution specialist, has promoted long-standing executive Chris Jackson to global head of equities.

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