🤯 Wait, so the FI in FIFA doesn’t stand for Fixed Income?
Another very worthwhile Fixed Income Leaders Summit in Boston with our clients, partners, fellow #fixedincome nerds, and the Norwegian soccer team.
My 2 favorite quotes from this one: Application of “AI on the trading desk remains to be seen”; “Greg, we need to talk, I have EMS envy”.
Themes I caught:
🤖 AI, because it’s 2026. Though skepticism seems to be stronger the closer you get to FI trade execution, there are clear applications within the investment process. Panelists mentioned: managing corp actions, new issue analysis/process, portfolio construction, synthesizing data that isn’t trapped (in an OMS or BBG), speeding up internal tech projects, target price formation.
💿 Data, because duh. Needs to be un-trapped, legally-accessible, current, and well-tagged. There’s more awareness of data costs, and the need to normalize and manage market data holistically across types & asset classes. Massive volume of data demands different infrastructure to handle it all, especially when it comes to SMA managers with thousands of accounts to juggle. [We process hundreds of millions of messages per client per day…yes, it can be a lot.]
↔️ Direct client-dealer connectivity was in sharper focus this year. Dealer presence at FILS continues to grow; there is palpable urgency to stay close to clients (and control data) as vendors look to add value as intermediaries.
📋 Portfolio trading. Though the “RFQ list vs PT” debate war wages on, the protocol has staying power. Dealers like it because it’s less in-comp, and there’s downstream business (like TRS, ETF arb) to be done on the back of it. Clients like PT because they get more certainty of execution at time of trade, even for the “problem children” that often creep into the basket. And prints in those tricky bonds may unlock future liquidity.
🏭🏦 A bit on swaps and MBS, but it’s still all about corporates and munis. 3 people independently came up to tell me how sleepy munis are and that there’s no innovation. Sorry, wrong. It’s a different market vs corporates for sure, and electronic notional is lower, but muni trading has evolved.
🚀 EMS. For large managers, the view has shifted from “an EMS is expensive” to “ EMS is table stakes”. By my count, more than 35% of the 50 largest US asset managers** now layer a FI EMS on top of their OMS (or OMSs). One head trader panel highlighted that traders need to move fast and add value to the investment process or be out of a job, and that nimble trading tech is vital.
**Most of those top 50 FI EMS adopters are Adroit Trading Technologies clients.
🙏 Truly grateful to clients, partners, and team Adroit for enabling us to more than double our client base (again) year over year. We are good partners, battle-tested, and we are committed to stay scrappy, hungry, and responsive. Thank you for entrusting us with your business, for your feedback that keeps making us better…and for damaging my liver.