Developed in consultation with AllianceBernstein, BlackRock, DWS, and State Street Investment Management, the new protocol introduces dedicated auction sessions at the start and end of the trading day for U.S. high-grade and high-yield bonds.
“Today’s fixed income markets are evolving quickly and there is a clear need for a market-wide auction protocol where price can be formed and liquidity can be unlocked,” said Kat Sweeney, Global Head of Data & ETF Solutions at MarketAxess.
“Auctions in derivatives and equity markets have proven to reduce volatility, increase transparency and concentrate liquidity.”
CEO Chris Concannon said the initiative reflects MarketAxess’s long-term vision to support the future of fixed income trading.
“With the growth of fixed income ETFs, credit derivatives, and portfolio trading, the market’s needs are rapidly changing. We felt it was important to build a protocol to support price formation and liquidity at the most critical times of the day,” he said.
The auctions will be available to clients and dealers in the coming weeks via the company’s X-Pro Trading platform.
