One Of The Last Holdouts, Corporate Bond Traders, Are Now Going Electronic

As technology has indelibly changed market structure over the past decade, moving from human-based pit trading in stocks and listed derivatives to computer-based methods, the industry and technical performance drivers, likewise, have changed. But not all trading has “gone to screen” so quickly. Institutional, corporate bond trading is one of the last holdouts along with many OTC derivatives contracts to trade mainly using phone calls and instant messaging. But a new Greenwich Associates survey of 100 buy-side fixed income trading desks notes that times are changing – and this involves more than just technology.

Bonds have been in a...