Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a global operator of electronic marketplaces across rates, credit, equities, and money markets, has announced the rollout of electronic portfolio trading for European government bonds. This new capability includes UK Gilts, euro-denominated securities, and single-currency notes. Tradeweb pioneered portfolio trading for corporate bonds back in 2019 and recorded USD 698 billion in notional portfolio trading volume last year, spread across 9,134 trades globally.
Tradeweb Expands Portfolio Trading to European Government Bonds
James Dale, Co-Head of International Developed Markets at Tradeweb, commented, “Expanding our portfolio trading tools into the European Government Bond space is a major step in offering more flexibility and streamlined execution for institutional investors. It reinforces our commitment to innovation and reflects our strength as a global, multi-asset trading platform. We’re dedicated to creating responsive, cross-asset solutions that meet the dynamic needs of the market.”
Co-head, Nicola Danese, added, “As portfolio trading gains broader acceptance among institutional clients, we believe its application will continue to evolve across the fixed income landscape. Traders are increasingly moving beyond traditional asset class boundaries, and portfolio trading showcases how technology can unify trading workflows and simplify execution.”
Tradeweb’s platform allows institutions to bundle multiple bonds into one transaction, negotiate pricing at the portfolio level with one or several liquidity providers, and complete the trade with a single counterparty. This approach accommodates securities with diverse liquidity levels, offering risk management at a portfolio level. Clients can replicate benchmarks or tailor baskets to specific investment strategies, all while reducing operational risks and supporting Best Execution. The method also curbs information leakage and minimizes market impact by aggregating multiple bond trades through a single dealer. Clients benefit from greater transparency by tracking execution costs at the portfolio level, helping them make more informed trading decisions.
The inaugural European government bond portfolio trade was electronically executed on Tradeweb by L&G, with Citi acting as the liquidity provider.
Kelly Moohan, Fixed Income Trader – Rates at L&G Asset Management, stated, “Our trading team continually collaborates with our E-Trading colleagues to enhance efficiency and adopt new tools like portfolio trading. Executing a basket of European Government Bonds as one trade strengthens our execution strategy. Embracing technology in this way allows us to support clients more effectively in various market conditions.”
Todd Coletto, Citi’s Head of Rates Business Development for the UK and Europe, added, “We’re proud to be the first dealer to facilitate this new offering for European Government bonds. Extending portfolio trading from credit to sovereign bonds is a big win for dealers, giving us new ways to deliver competitive, transparent pricing for a wide range of instruments.”
Tradeweb’s European Government Bond marketplace reached a record average daily volume of USD 212.6 billion in 2024, marking a 45.6% increase compared to the prior year. The platform offers access to liquidity from 47 top-tier market makers and supports bond trading from over 20 European nations across seven currencies (EUR, GBP, DKK, SEK, NOK, CHF, HUF). In addition to portfolio trading, the platform also supports RFQ (Request-for-Quote)—which Tradeweb introduced to the U.S. Treasury market in 1998—along with RFM (Request-for-Market) and CTT (Click-to-Trade) protocols.
