Trends in E-commerce 2014

GreySpark Partners believes that a successful sellside capital markets e-commerce offering covers all electronic channels and the entirety of the trading lifecycle. Variation in the maturity of buyside firms to electronically interact with capital markets as well as differences in the electronification of trading from one asset class to the next makes trade execution through every e-channel relevant. In addition to trade execution, buyside firms now expect the sellside to electronically provide them with pre- and post-trade services.

The delivery of a consistent, comprehensive cross-channel service is a complex task. Banks rationalise their presence on e-channels and reduce excess capacity to focus efforts and spend on services that create the greatest value. This report identifies opportunities for the sellside to prioritise improvements in their e-commerce offerings to service buyside demand. The report also provides banks with a framework they can use to prioritise investments in their franchises depending on respective client bases and technological capabilities.

Strategic data management is crucial to understanding the sellside client base and for the exploration of all the benefits an e-commerce offering can yield. Those benefits are of two kinds: a better, contextualised and personalised service for clients, and the exploration of cross-sell opportunities for banks.

This report is fourth report in an annual series of reports examining Trends in E-commerce and Electronic Trading. Previous reports in the series published this year covered 2014 trends in fixed income, FX and equities trading.