Key Takeaways
- • BlackRock's global head of fixed income trading, Dan Veiner, said the firm's main test for new trading technology is whether a product solves a specific problem for BlackRock or its clients, or is a repackaged idea that has already failed.
- • Veiner cited consolidation in fixed income over the past five years and the number of vendors that have tried and failed to disrupt the market as reasons for caution.
- • BlackRock weighs screen real estate heavily: Veiner said tools should integrate into existing workflows without new log-ins and should be accessible through backend APIs.
- • Veiner said BlackRock will run pilots of tools that demand more desktop space if the business case is sound.
- • Veiner's remarks were made at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit in Philadelphia, where executives from Morgan Stanley and Millennium were also featured in the discussion.
Summary
Fixed income is among the fastest-changing segments of Wall Street. Long dominated by voice trading over the phone, the asset class has been moving toward electronic execution, following the path already taken by equities and currencies. As electronic markets take hold, firms need a clear strategy for which new trading technologies to adopt in order to keep pace with competitors.
Dan Veiner, global head of fixed income trading at BlackRock, outlined his criteria at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit in Philadelphia. According to Veiner, his primary question for any vendor is whether the product addresses a specific problem for BlackRock or its clients, or whether it is a repackaged concept that has already failed elsewhere. He noted that many companies have attempted to disrupt fixed income trading without success, and pointed to the consolidation the sector has undergone over the past five years as a reminder of how difficult that task is.
Integration is a second major consideration. Veiner said BlackRock assesses how much screen real estate a tool occupies on an employee's desktop and whether it can be woven into existing workflows without requiring an additional log-in. He also asked whether tools can be accessed through application programming interfaces (APIs) on the back end. Those requirements do not rule out tools that take up more screen space. Veiner said BlackRock's team is willing to run a pilot program if the business case supports it, and summarized the firm's stance as "both open-minded and very careful about how we proceed."
The published discussion, which the headline indicates also features executives from Morgan Stanley and Millennium, frames these criteria as representative of how large asset managers and dealers are evaluating fixed income technology. The excerpt available for this summary focuses principally on BlackRock's perspective.
Dan Veiner, global head of fixed income trading at BlackRock, outlined his criteria at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit in Philadelphia. According to Veiner, his primary question for any vendor is whether the product addresses a specific problem for BlackRock or its clients, or whether it is a repackaged concept that has already failed elsewhere. He noted that many companies have attempted to disrupt fixed income trading without success, and pointed to the consolidation the sector has undergone over the past five years as a reminder of how difficult that task is.
Integration is a second major consideration. Veiner said BlackRock assesses how much screen real estate a tool occupies on an employee's desktop and whether it can be woven into existing workflows without requiring an additional log-in. He also asked whether tools can be accessed through application programming interfaces (APIs) on the back end. Those requirements do not rule out tools that take up more screen space. Veiner said BlackRock's team is willing to run a pilot program if the business case supports it, and summarized the firm's stance as "both open-minded and very careful about how we proceed."
The published discussion, which the headline indicates also features executives from Morgan Stanley and Millennium, frames these criteria as representative of how large asset managers and dealers are evaluating fixed income technology. The excerpt available for this summary focuses principally on BlackRock's perspective.
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