Nomura picks up Macquarie asset management businesses

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April 22, 2025

Kentaro Okuda, president and group CEO, Nomura

Nomura is set to acquire three Macquarie public asset management businesses in an all-cash US$1.8 billion deal.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025.

The Japanese bank will take over Macquarie Management Holdings, which owns Macquarie’s public asset management business in the US, Macquarie Investment Management Holdings Luxembourg, and Macquarie Asset Management Holdings Austria.

Through the expansion, Nomura’s assets under management (AUM) for its investment management division will rise from US$590 billion to US$770 billion. A total 35% will be held by ex-Japan clients.

According to Morningstar asset flow data, Macquarie US funds held US$9.3 billion AUM at the end of March 2025. The bulk of this came from the Small Cap Core equity fund (US$6.9 billion), while the remainder was made up of municipal bonds and a taxable bank loan bond.

“This will be transformational for our investment management division’s presence outside of Japan, adding significant scale to the US, strengthening our platform and provisioning opportunities to build our public and private capabilities,” stated Kentaro Okuda, Nomura president and group CEO.

“The acquisition will align with our 2030 global growth and diversification ambitions.”

Macquarie’s businesses will continue to grow under Nomura’s management, with plans in place to increase AUM scale and diversify offerings. Nomura’s asset management services will be made available to business clients.

Current management for the businesses will retain their roles, led by Shawn Lytle, president of the Macquarie funds and head of Americas for Macquarie Group. He is supported by John Pickard, chief investment officer for equities and multi-asset, Greg Gizzi, chief investment officer for fixed income, and Milissa Hutchunson, head of US wealth.

Elsewhere in its global expansion, Nomura recently appointed Douglas Stewart to lead distribution for EMEA and Latin America.

Nomura will be US wealth distribution partner for Macquarie Asset Management and provide seed capital to a number of Macquarie Asset Management alternative funds for US wealth clients.

The two companies have established a working group to identify further opportunities for collaboration.

Rising tides lift all ships in Q1 US bank results

By

Lucy Carter

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April 16, 2025

Equity trading revenues picked up in US investment banks over the first three months of 2025 in light of energetic pre-US tariff activity, with the push for top spot becoming a three-horse race.

JP Morgan saw the greatest success story, with an 87% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) hike in equities financing and market making revenues to US$3.81 billion. This also represented a 41% year-on-year increase, from US$2.7 billion in Q1 2024, and put it in competition with battling titans Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Goldman continued to edge ahead of Morgan Stanley in overall equity trading revenues – but the gap between the two investment banks, which have been in close competition since Q2 2024, is narrowing. Morgan Stanley reported more than a 50% QoQ increase in revenues, up 78% to US$4.1 billion. The YoY change was far more subdued, however, up just 4% from the bank’s strong lead over competitors in Q1 2024.

Goldman’s steady performance over recent quarters resulted in a 21% revenue increase in Q1. Although the most marginal of the banks referenced here, the firm’s steady performance over recent quarters meant it remained the frontrunner, with a reported US$4.19 billion in equity trading revenues. Its progress was more clearly seen when YoY results were considered, with its 35% increase in revenues the second largest of the cohort.

In the last three months, Goldman CEO David Solomon commented: “We started to see growth showing and slowing in late January and early February. We obviously saw significant moves in equity markets as people positioned for a different kind of trade policies during March, and we saw significant moves in the March period, which actually led to higher activity for us in a variety of ways.”

Bank of America and Citi followed similar trajectories, with revenues rising in tandem but overall performance leaving them well behind the three leaders of the pack. BofA’s revenues rose 48% to US$2.19 billion over the quarter, and 15% YoY. Citi was up 36% QoQ and 25% YoY to US$1.5 billion.

During an earnings call, BofA was questioned on their competitive capabilities.

“This has been a relentless climb up the ladder,” responded Brian Moynihan, CEO. “The idea is to keep gaining share, but at a pace that capitalises on the volume of revenue into the business and grows from there, as opposed to grabbing it and giving it back and grabbing it and giving it back. Expect us to keep gaining share. We’ll keep closing the gaps.”

On investor behavior, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser observed that clients are wary of making big moves in an uncertain environment after March’s turmoil. “At the moment, [we’re] still seeing deals happening. Even over this last weekend, we were pretty busy. But I would say that most clients are pausing their plans. No one is taking bets in the market right now.

“We’re seeing them prep for more headwinds, so we’re seeing some bolstering of already strong balance sheets.”

Jeremy Barnum, chief financial officer at JP Morgan, agreed that corporate clients were adopting a “wait and see” approach to markets post-US tariffs.

Less concerned by macro conditions is Solomon, who is confident in Goldman’s strength going forwards. “We’re early in the quarter, and so far the business is performing very well and clients are very active,” he affirmed.

Considering global uncertainties, “the animal spirits are still there, insofar as folks are trying to not get caught offsite. We’re seeing natural volatility,” he continued. “The question over time will be, at what point does the uncertainty result in a knockout of the new issue business? Volumes will slow on the back of just a continued sense of uncertainty, and then you see gapier markets and lower volumes. [At the moment] we’re not seeing that.

“For all of the concerns about what could come down the road in the real economy, the market making and the ability to transact to clients as they up-and-down their leverage levels has been very orderly.”

“Markets are off, but clients remain very much engaged,” concurred Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley CEO. “A bear case would be a weaker economy, weaker sentiment. But that’s not where we are.”

Fraser agreed: “There are a lot of complicated dynamics happening, but it is pretty orderly out there on the trading side. We’re seeing clients taking the opportunity to de-risk, so that if we have more turbulence ahead everyone’s in a stronger position for it. But it’s early days. We’ve got to see how this unfolds.”

LSEG rejigs leadership ahead of Eikon withdrawal

By

Lucy Carter

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April 16, 2025

Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts, co-CEOs, global data & analytics, LSEG

LSEG has appointed Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts co-heads of the global data and analytics division.

Based in London and New York respectively, the pair report to LSEG CEO David Schwimmer. Within their roles, they are responsible for the growth of the company’s financial database service Workspace – the successor to Eikon, which is being withdrawn effective 30 June.

The new platform offers integration into Microsoft products, interoperability with Teams and Microsoft 365 aiming to improve workflow.

LSEG’s main competitor in this space is Bloomberg, with the Bloomberg Terminal reporting more than 350,000 subscribers as of 2022. LSEG Data & Analytics most recently reported 40,000 customers.

Biagini, currently a senior vice president at S&P Global Market Intelligence, will join the company in August. With almost 30 years of experience, he has been a partner at IHS Markit and global head of data solutions at Bloomberg.

Lefferts has been with LSEG since 2021, first as group head of strategic accounts and latterly as group head of sales and account management. Across his 25 year career Lefferts has held senior roles at companies including IBM and Merrill Lynch.

S&P500 futures liquidity declined 90% at height of tariff turmoil

By

Etienne Mercuriali

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April 15, 2025

Depth of order book collapsed as liquidity providers fled unprecedented volatility, Global Trading analysis shows.

In a market rocked by tariff uncertainties and extreme volatility, the liquidity of e-mini-S&P 500 index futures, traded on CME, showed an extraordinary collapse in order book depth over the two-week period before 11 April. The reduction in liquidity of US stocks over the same period was more modest, Global Trading analysis shows.

Detailed measurements averaged over 15 minutes period between 24 March and 11 April show that during normal trading hours, from 2pm to 10 pm BST, liquidity resting across the first 10 ticks on the bid and offer of the CME lit order book experienced a dramatic withdrawal in just a matter of days.

Using Level 2 order book data, this liquidity is expressed in the number of limit order contracts placed on the bid and offer side within the first ten ticks away the market price. Multiplied by the contract value and index price, this gives a dollar amount for available S&P futures liquidity.

Robust liquidity beforehand
From 24 March to 28 March, liquidity on the bid and ask on cash equity open was around US$250 million and up to US$350 million on the cash close. In contract terms, that represents between 800 to 1100 limit order contracts resting passively in the book.

Available futures liquidity started to decline abruptly on 31 March, showing a decline between US$150 million to US$250 million by the end of trading.

A collapse after ‘Liberation Day’
However, the real change came after the US introduction of tariffs on 2 April, or ‘Liberation Day’. This led to a substantial decline in passive liquidity as measured by limit order depth.
On 3 April, during the 15 minutes after the cash open, resting liquidity on the first ten ticks on the bid and ask was only around US$100 million. This drought worsened despite the administration U-turn on some tariffs, with the VIX index reaching highs of 57 and staying above 30.

By 10 April, resting liquidity on open and close was barely 10% of what it had been only ten days prior. With liquidity on the first 15 min post cash open at US$40 million on the bid US$48 million on offer, respectively US$ 45 million on bid and US$34 million on offer in the 15 minutes into the close of US equities, liquidity resting in the order book has all but disappeared.

While passive liquidity waned, the need for liquidity increased. Contracts traded rose by more than 60% between 25 March and 7 April, from 1.02 million to 3.5 million contracts traded on the day. This liquidity supply-demand imbalance on CME contributed to volatility.

When contacted by Global Trading for comment on the findings, CME stated: “Our markets are operating with exceptional resilience in a period of tremendous uncertainty and record volumes.”

A less pronounced change in stocks
Global trading also looked at the evolution of US cash equities liquidity, as measured by available limit order offer and on demand 10 basis points away from the NBBO.
While this analysis was only conducted using daily average data, it shows the average liquidity on the 100 biggest US stocks by market cap followed a similar pattern as the S&P 500 index future albeit in a less pronounced manner:

Average daily 10 bp away from NBBO resting liquidity in 100 largest US stock by market cap, data from BMLL Vantage

Data indicates resting liquidity over 10 basis points above and below the NBBO in cash equities diminished approximately 75% after 2 April for the 100 biggest stocks.

Citadel Securities, the largest US market maker, Jane Street declined to comment. Jump Trading, Optiver, Headlands did not respond to request for comments.

Cboe expands derivatives business as demand booms

By

Lucy Carter

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April 15, 2025

Catherine Clay, global head of derivatives, Cboe

Although data for April is not yet available, volume in VIX futures was subdued up to the end of March, staying below 2024 levels.

Demand for VIX futures rose significantly over the last month, with volumes hitting 637,030 on 31 March. However, these figures were still well below those seen in August 2024, which peaked at 856,900, or even the 679,920 recorded on 12 April 2024.

The value of the VIX index at close, however, has skyrocketed, hitting 52.33 on 8 April. This far exceeds the 38.57 recorded for 5 August last year.

Cboe was criticised after the event by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which stated that the VIX index was overly reliant on market maker quotes for pre-hours trading.

The group saw record highs in US overnight trading activity in Q1 2025, with average daily trading volumes for proprietary products up 36% year-on-year to 124,600 contracts. Between 2022 and 2024, average daily volumes on the US EDGX Equities Exchange trading venue’s early hours trading sessions also saw a spike – up 135%. Cboe subsequently launched 24-hour trading for stocks listed on EDGX earlier this year.

In a bid to meet derivatives demand, Cboe has expanded its coverage with the launch of S&P 500 equal weight index (EWI) options on its network.

EWI options can be used for hedging and directional trades based on macro trends and broader equity market dynamics. With a mid-sized notional value, based on 1/10th of the value of the S&P 500 EWI, these options will be accessible to both retail and institutional investors as a complement to Cboe’s existing S&P 500 Index (SPX) options, Cboe stated.

“Investors [are] turning to options at record levels to help manage US equity market exposure and volatility,” commented Catherine Clay, global head of derivatives at Cboe. “We expect these options to cater to both retail and institutional investors looking to diversify and implement a variety of trading strategies, ultimately providing them greater choice and ability to tailor their exposure to fit their needs.”

In a geographical expansion, Cboe has also opened a Hong Kong base for its derivatives market intelligence and content business, responding to significant demand for US market access from APAC clients.

Wei Liao will lead the franchise.

The derivatives market intelligence business aims to support investors’ understanding of cross-asset market dynamics, with this expansion providing the means for regionally specific trend coverage.

On the regional expansion, Mandy Xu, global head of derivatives market intelligence at Cboe, commented: “APAC is a key region where options and futures are gaining rapid momentum among both institutional and retail investors, and with that, we see a significant opportunity to serve this market through expanded data access and client education.”

Liao has more than 15 years of industry experience, specialising in macroeconomic research, trading and portfolio management. She joins Cboe from CQS Asset Management, where she was a portfolio manager. Prior to this, she founded and managed derivatives-focused hedge fund Watercourse Macro.

Consolidated Tape data won’t be mandatory for best execution quality assessment

By

Etienne Mercuriali

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April 15, 2025

ESMA has tidied up rules on volume caps, systematic internaliser (SI) reporting, circuit breaker mechanisms, and tweaked execution policy standards but missed an opportunity to use its CTP proposals to enforce consistency.

In the first of two reports published on 10 April, the European Securities and Markets Authority confirmed an industry-friendly approach to execution policy. It simplifies the categorisation of financial instruments into ten distinct asset classes. and requires firms to also adopt comprehensive monitoring processes, assessing their executed trades against reliable market data.

In its report, ESMA introduced new guidelines for assessing execution quality. Beyond simplifying the classification of financial instruments, firms must implement monitoring criteria, including predetermined thresholds for price deviations, the minimum percentage of traded volume meeting market reference prices, and the minimum number of compliant transactions.

Moreover, ESMA requires an annual evaluation of execution policy effectiveness—or immediate assessment if monitoring indicates possible shortcomings—hoping to uphold high standards of transparency and investor protection, while keeping administrative demands proportionate

Unlike in the US, these evaluations will not take the standardised shape of SEC Rule 605 or 606 and fall short of enabling the wider public to scrutinise effectively order flow routing and execution quality across all possible counterparties.
Despite such shortcomings, ESMA places its faith in the quality of industry disclosures. “From the policy perspective, order execution policies should effectively enhance the execution quality for retail and professional clients,” EMSA said.

Dashing any hopes that its consolidated tape proposals will improve the consistency of best execution disclosure, ESMA explicitly states that “it is not the intention of the draft RTS to introduce a de facto mandatory consumption of consolidated tape data. Firms are free to source the data they deem useful for the purposes of best execution, if it provides a reliable and truthful presentation, in terms of completeness and accuracy of the data, of the execution prices obtained in the market”.

Responding to Global Trading, an ESMA spokesperson referred to a 16 December report on equity transparency, which modified flags in post-trade reporting. These include, for example, a field specifying for bilateral trades if they were Benchmark (‘BENC’), Portfolio (‘PORT’), Reference Price Transaction (‘RFPT’) etc. However, this revised framework stops short of enabling greater public scrutiny into how bilateral orders are routed, or execution quality, leaving concerns around bilateral execution transparency largely unaddressed.

In its second report on SI notification, volume cap and transparency calculations (RTS 3), and harmonisation of circuit breakers (new RTS 7a), ESMA presents a new reporting regime.

The new reporting regime transitions the responsibility of trade data publication from SIs to DPEs clearly identified in a publicly accessible ESMA registry. This change aims to improve transparency and accountability, though questions remain the re too on whether the market will gain granular visibility of individual DPE contributions to APA-reported volumes—particularly significant given that APA (Approved Publication Arrangement) data represented 20-25% of total European equity volumes last year, according to BMLL Vantage.

Additionally, ESMA confirms moving from the double volume cap (venue-level at 4% and EU-wide at 8%) to a unified EU-wide cap at 7%, utilising transaction reporting data under Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) Article 26. This transition reduces firms’ administrative burdens by eliminating legacy daily reporting obligations and retiring outdated data collection systems.

The recast RTS 7a on circuit breakers standardises their deployment across both dark and lit trading venues, granting trading venues flexibility in choosing suitable volatility management mechanisms—including trading halts and/or price collars—while mandating periodic reviews and public disclosure of key operational parameters.

ESMA has submitted these proposals to the European Commission, recommending adoption within three months.

StoneX builds out FCM presence with RJO acquisition

By

Lucy Carter

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April 14, 2025

StoneX Group has agreed to acquire futures brokerage and clearing firm RJ O’Brien & Associates (RJO).

RJO generated approximately US$766 million in revenue in 2024, while StoneX Group reported US$1.7 billion in net operating revenue over the year. The group currently has a market cap above US$3.5 billion.

All RJO’s global businesses will be merged into StoneX. Gerry Corcoran, chairman and CEO of RJO, will take on a senior leadership role at StoneX following the acquisition.

Sean O’Connor, executive vice chairman of StoneX, commented: “[This establishes] us as a leading global derivatives clearing firm and reinforcing our position as an integral part of the global market structure across asset classes.”

By January 2025 results StoneX was the 16th largest futures commission merchant (FCM) in the US by total funds, according to CFTC data.

The approximately US$900 million deal is expected to close in H2 this year. The purchase will be made up of cash and shares of StoneX common stock. The company will use bridge financing for the cash portion, and plans to issue US$625 million in long-term debt before closure.

StoneX will also assume up to US$143 million in RJO’s debt through the transaction, with Bank of America providing debt financing.

Corcoran said: “RJO’s clients will continue to enjoy the same enduring relationships with the brokers they know so well and the high level of service they know they can expect from us. In addition to all the products we offer today, our clients and brokers will have a plethora of new products and services across asset classes available at their fingertips, bringing meaningful new trading and hedging opportunities.”

Broadhaven Capital Partners is RJO’s financial advisor, and Mayer Brown LLP its legal advisor. Bank of America is acting as financial advisor for StoneX, with Davis Polk & Wardwell as legal advisor.

Rathi reappointed at FCA

By

Lucy Carter

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April 11, 2025

Nikhil Rathi has been reappointed for a second term as FCA CEO, a position he will hold until 2030. He is the first FCA CEO to complete a full five-year term.

During Rathi’s first term, he oversaw changes to the UK’s listings regime designed to allow more companies to issue shares on UK exchanges. The introduction of consumer duty standards in 2023 was also well received.

During his tenure, the FCA has also faced severe criticism from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services last year, with a report citing a “toxic” culture, poor management and insufficient enforcement actions.

The paper, which included comments from several FCA employees, referenced low confidence in Rathi’s capabilities.

One participant in the enquiry, when asked whether the FCA needs to be made more accountable to the public, Parliament or other entity, stated: “I think the FCA is beyond that. It needs root-and-branch reform or even outright abolition.”

A key current target of the FCA is improving international competitiveness, a report on which is expected to be published in summer 2025. Its work in this space includes reducing regulation, improving access to capital and accelerating the authorisation process.

In a letter confirming his reappointment, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves outlined her expectations for Rathi’s second term.

“I expect to see the FCA fully embrace its international competitiveness and growth objective throughout the organisation, and continue the work you have been leading to deliver a shift in mindset so that growth and competitiveness are at the core of your policy-making and approach to supervision and interacting with firms.

“The burden of regulation in the UK is too high, significantly impacting growth, innovation and productivity.

“We must shift our collective approach to risk-taking, to enable and support more responsible and informed risk taking across the economy. This is not about watering down consumer protections or market integrity; but in order to allow our economy to flourish we must allow businesses and consumers to make informed choices about the level of risk they take on, and our regulatory system must adapt to keep pace with innovation, new industries, and new challenges.”

On his reappointment, Rathi commented: “I am proud of the reforms we have delivered to support growth, bolster operational effectiveness, set higher standards and to keep our markets clean and open. While we must go further and faster in this age of volatility, the UK is well placed as a major international financial centre.”

Atkins confirmed to lead SEC

By

Lucy Carter

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April 11, 2025

The US Senate has confirmed Paul Atkins as SEC chairman.

Senate Banking Committee chairman Tom Scott commented: “[Atkins’s] tenure will mark a pivotal moment to roll back harmful Biden-era policies, promote capital formation, and enhance opportunities for retail investors. Chairman Atkins will also provide regulatory clarity for digital assets, allowing American innovation to flourish, and ensuring we remain competitive on the global stage.”

Atkins was a commissioner at the SEC from 2002 to 2008 under the Bush administration. He has since served as CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consultancy firm which he founded in 2009. Between 2012 and 2015 he was chairman of the Bats Global Markets (now Cboe Global Markets) board.

Acting chairman Mark Uyeda, alongside commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw, issued a statement on the confirmation: “A veteran of our commission, we look forward to [Atkins] joining with us, along with our dedicated staff, to fulfill our mission on behalf of the investing public.”

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Untangling the tariff turmoil

By

Nick Dunbar

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April 10, 2025

Turnover of large cap US stocks dominated global equity trading in the past week, analysis shows

In the latest visualization, Global Trading looks at the global MSCI World index. This index accounts for $97 trillion in total market cap and is a widely followed benchmark. The different countries in the index have shown widely varying performance in the past month. Even after the rally prompted by US President Trump’s decision to pause most tariffs, US stocks show a one-month return of -11.5%, compared -7.3% with Chinese stocks. That epitomizes the investors’ view that while the intertwined economies of both countries are set to lose under mutually destructive tariffs, the US is going to fare worse.

MSCI Interactive Treemap

Select Size Metric: Select Color Metric:

Disclaimer: This visualisation is a reconstruction of the MSCI World index using available public sources, without the involvement of MSCI Inc. There may be significant differences between the data shown here and the actual index.

Meanwhile, India is almost flat on the month, based on the weighted return of MSCI members, as multinationals such as Apple scramble to move supply chains there, away from China. With $3 trillion of market cap, India is currently the fourth largest country in the world by this metric. Over the same period, Brazil shows a positive return of 2%, based on its MSCI member stocks.

Looking at trading volume, the picture is muddied by currency effects, with shares typically quoted in a hundred units or so of national currency. For countries with very weak currencies, such as Indonesia, volumes appear inflated as a result. To try and correct for this, we show US dollar turnover, which is defined as average trading volume multiplied by share price in dollars.

While US stocks account for 53% of MSCI market cap, they accounted for 83% of average turnover in the past week, according to Global Trading analysis. $588 billion of US stocks changed hands each day on average over the last seven days, or 1% of US equity market cap, compared with 0.6% on average during the past year. By contrast, $72 billion of Chinese stocks changed hands each day over the past week on average, or 0.6% of market cap, compared with 0.4% normally.

Among individual stocks, there have been some dramatic increases in trading volume, particularly when compared with the last bout of trading volatility in February, that focused on chipmaker Nvidia. In the past seven days, Nvidia’s volume almost hit the same level as February, while Tesla’s volume has increased by almost by a factor of three. The surge reflects how Tesla’s fortunes are inextricably bound up with its founder Elon Musk, now a member of Trump’s administration.

Measured on a turnover basis, Tesla’s daily turnover averaged 2% of market cap in the past year. Last week, $45 billion of Tesla shares changed hands per day on average, representing 5.2% of market cap. Among large cap US stocks, only Micro Strategy showed a larger turnover ratio of 8.5%. By comparison, China’s highest turnover stock, Xaomi, had a ratio of just 2.4%, with $35 billion turnover in the past seven days.

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Nomura is set to acquire three Macquarie public asset management businesses in an all-cash US$1.8 billion deal.

Equity trading revenues picked up in US investment banks over the first three months of 2025 in light of energetic pre-US tariff activity, with the push for top spot becoming a three-horse race.

LSEG has appointed Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts co-heads of the global data and analytics division.

Depth of order book collapsed as liquidity providers fled unprecedented volatility, Global Trading analysis shows.

Although data for April is not yet available, volume in VIX futures was subdued up to the end of March, staying below 2024 levels.

ESMA has tidied up rules on volume caps, systematic internaliser (SI) reporting, circuit breaker mechanisms, and tweaked execution policy standards but missed an opportunity to use its CTP proposals to enforce consistency.

StoneX Group has agreed to acquire futures brokerage and clearing firm RJ O’Brien & Associates (RJO).

Nikhil Rathi has been reappointed for a second term as FCA CEO, a position he will hold until 2030. He is the first FCA CEO to complete a full five-year term.

The US Senate has confirmed Paul Atkins as SEC chairman.

Turnover of large cap US stocks dominated global equity trading in the past week, analysis shows

MSCI Interactive Treemap

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