Buyer’s Guide: Sellside Cash Equities OMS and EMS

Cash equities, along with listed derivatives, are the most electronified asset class, indicating that there is a high level of standardisation both of the instruments traded and in the trade process itself. In 2015, technology solutions that support cash equities trading are commoditised and this means that vendors have a limited space to differentiate their offerings.

While this commoditisation means that the sellside has less clear-cut answers to which technology best suits their requirements, it does help to manage their costs in the post-crisis revenue squeeze. The downward trend of revenue is evidenced by the fact that trading volumes in 2015 were nearly half the volume levels seen in 2007. Indeed, revenues in 2012 were only 55% of their 2007 levels. Although the market outlook is optimistic, the recovery of trading volumes to pre-crisis levels is slow.

Despite a high degree of commoditisation of trading technology, the selection of an OEMS vendor still requires careful consideration. In 2015, there are three capacities whereby vendors differentiate themselves from the competition: in sophisticated, broker-specific functions such as programme trading and customisable algorithmic trading, in additional solutions and services that are added to the core OEMS and in asset class coverage. With this in mind, choosing an OEMS vendor should be a search for a partner that will assist in keeping up with the pace of evolution of equities trading and with any developments in technology.

GreySpark’s report Buyer’s Guide: Sellside Cash Equities OMS and EMS examines the solutions from 10 leading vendors in the cash equities OMS and EMS space, focusing on nine specific areas.