Counterparty Radar
Matchmaking and benchmarking for OTC derivatives
Counterparty Radar is based on position data from around 20,000 US mutual funds and ETFs, rolled up to the manager level – it shows the OTC derivatives they have on their books, and who they traded them with, providing unique insights into an important market segment. More info
US insurers turn to short-dated FX forwards as notionals rise
Counterparty Radar: Trades under three months make up nearly 60% of total positions, up from just a third in 2022
Inflation swaps
MassMutual exited inflation hedges in Q2
Counterparty Radar: Closure of $1.5 billion book dealt a blow to BNP Paribas’s dealer ranking
US retail funds continue to ditch inflation hedges
Counterparty Radar: Aggregate notional drops 27% in Q1 as Pimco unwinds more swaps
John Hancock Life loads on inflation hedges
Counterparty Radar: US life insurer inflation swaps market doubles in Q1 on back of Manulife-owned firm’s expansion
US life insurers retained inflation hedges despite CPI drop
Counterparty Radar: John Hancock is biggest user of inflation swaps among US insurers, BNPP the largest dealer
Interest rate swaps
BlackRock bucks trend in shrinking IRS market for Ucits
Counterparty Radar: Pimco boosts pay-fixed book by $27.5 billion in H1 2024
New data reveals Pimco is top Ucits interest rate swaps user
Counterparty Radar: US managers and dealers reign supreme in European retail fund space
Capital Group grows interest rates swaps book by 62%
Counterparty Radar: Aggregate notional of US mutual fund and ETF positions hit $957 billion in Q1
MassMutual adds to mammoth interest rate swaps book
Counterparty Radar: Firm was responsible for 28% of US life insurers’ notional aggregate in Q4 2023
Interest rate swaptions
Pimco’s $19 billion Sonia swaptions trade
Counterparty Radar: Bond giant springs up as largest player in space among US mutual fund managers, with Guggenheim shadowing its move
Vanguard stages swaptions comeback
Counterparty Radar: Deutsche grew book to $11 billion in Q1 to become largest non-US swaptions dealer to mutual funds
Citi halves swaptions book with US retail funds
Counterparty Radar: Mutual funds and ETFs cut exposures by 22% in Q4
Mizuho’s life insurance swaptions notional climbs 575% in a year
Counterparty Radar: Prudential, Global Atlantic add substantially to positions in Q3 as market’s notional total grows to $184bn
Credit options
Vanguard is new kid on the CDS options block
Counterparty Radar: Passive behemoth held a quarter of reported notional among US retail funds in Q4 2024
PGIM nearly eliminates credit options book
Counterparty Radar: Pimco also exits space in Q2 as US funds show record low positions in the instrument
PGIM trades reinforce Citi’s credit options stronghold
Counterparty Radar: US retail funds’ aggregate notional drops to lowest levels since late 2020 in Q1
Citi catapults to top credit options dealer spot for US funds
Counterparty Radar: Market for mutual funds, ETFs continues to shrink in Q4 as Pimco, PGIM further cut exposures
Index CDS
Citi revealed as top index CDS dealer to Ucits funds
Counterparty Radar: Novel data shows US banks captured nearly 90% of uncleared notional volume in European markets
Allianz Life triples index CDS book
Counterparty Radar: US life insurer market’s notional volume doubles in Q1
Pimco returns to sold index CDS growth
Counterparty Radar: Market for US retail funds sheds $5.2 billion in volume in Q1
Allianz Life halves index CDS book in Q4
Counterparty Radar: Move by US market behemoth pushes life insurers’ notional down by almost 40%
Single-name CDS
BNPP overtakes Barclays in Ucits single-name CDSs
Counterparty Radar: Europe’s retail funds shed notional but used wider range of underlyings, new data shows
Allianz Life drops single-name CDS positions in Q4
Counterparty Radar: US life insurance industry volumes sink to lowest level in two years
US funds add to single-name CDS positions
Counterparty Radar: Corporate positions exceed SSA contracts for first time on record in Q2
Citi’s single-name CDS book with retail funds doubled in Q1
Counterparty Radar: New trades with PGIM totalling $2.4 billion return Citi to top of dealer rankings
FX Forwards
US insurers turn to short-dated FX forwards as notionals rise
Counterparty Radar: Trades under three months make up nearly 60% of total positions, up from just a third in 2022
ANZ’s FX forwards surge with Pimco
Counterparty Radar: Australian bank becomes top counterparty to the asset manager after huge jumps in cable and EUR/USD
Mutual funds were USD bulls going into April’s tariff chaos
Counterparty Radar: Positioning in Q1 reflected market sentiment that tariffs would lead to a dollar rally
Wells Fargo’s FX strategy wins over buy-side clients
Counterparty Radar: Life insurers looked west for liquidity after November’s US presidential election
FX Options
Pimco piled into euro put options in Q2
Counterparty Radar: EUR/USD buying spree takes Pimco’s FX options book to $7 billion
Niche FX crosses pop up in mutual fund options activity
Counterparty Radar: Fund filings reveal unusual FX options crosses – some never repeated, many with unclear strategies
Franklin Templeton dethrones MSIM as top FX options user
Counterparty Radar: MSIM continued to cut RMB positions in Q3, while Franklin Templeton increased G10 trades
Goldman Sachs retakes top FXO dealer spot with mutual funds
Counterparty Radar: Trades with SEI Investments boosts US bank to top spot
Index options
US life insurers piled into index options in Q2
Counterparty Radar: Lincoln Financial, Global Atlantic lead expansion; Goldman claims top dealer spot
Lincoln, Global Atlantic push JPM to index options top spot
Counterparty Radar: Among life insurers, options notional grew 7% in Q1
US life insurer index options market hits $1trn mark
Counterparty Radar: Lincoln Financial emerges as top player in Q4 with $43 billion portfolio increase
Calamos grows equity index options book amid put U-turn
Counterparty Radar: US retail funds cut $39.3 billion notional in Q4
Single-stock options
Tidal rides retail boom to lead in single-stock options
Counterparty Radar: Volatility-selling ETF firm accounts for half of trading among US funds
US mutual funds piled into call-selling strategies in Q1
Counterparty Radar: BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and T Rowe Price among the managers who added to single-stock positions
Fidelity, T Rowe add to sold single-stock call positions
Counterparty Radar: US mutual funds, ETFs shed $2.7 billion in options notional during Q4
Franklin Templeton takes single-stock options top spot
Counterparty Radar: Market for US mutual funds and ETFs expanded by $4 billion in Q3
Repo
Crypto ETFs gatecrash the US Treasury repo market
Counterparty Radar: Volatility Shares tapped $13 billion in repo funding in Q2
Bank of America extends repo cash borrowing surge with Pimco
Counterparty Radar: US bank's mutual fund repo borrowing jumps five-fold in six quarters to pull away from rivals
BNP Paribas is biggest fish in shrinking repo pond
Counterparty Radar: US retail funds cut their repo exposure in Q2 to the lowest level since 2020
Pimco powers BNP Paribas to top of repo rankings
Counterparty Radar: French dealer grew its repurchase book by 65% in first quarter
