Buy-side firms reject market-making role

Client mandates and compliance mean dealers cannot be replaced like-for-like, but electronic platforms could enable opportunistic liquidity provision

Buy-side firms against becoming market-makers

Buy-side firms will not replace retreating bank market-makers, three asset managers warned yesterday – or, at least, not on a like-for-like basis. Speaking during a conference in New York, panellists said liquidity in fixed-income markets could be improved if more bond trading was done via all-to-all platforms, but only if some buy-side participants happen to have a mandate to buy what others are selling.

"If the situation is right, and we're getting inflows and others are getting outflows, then