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
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
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
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
TD, Goldman make strides with Ucits in FX forwards trades
Counterparty Radar: JP Morgan AM notional crossed $100 billion threshold in first half of 2024
Pimco and Vanguard slash FX forwards trading with BNP Paribas
Counterparty Radar: French bank sees its notional with mutual funds halve
FX Options
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
Franklin Templeton steps back into FX options
Former biggest user of the instrument among US mutual funds returns with $7.6bn of USD/JPY strategies
Morgan Stanley shoots into FX options dealer top spot
Counterparty Radar: US mutual funds added $11.1 billion in new positions in Q1
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
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
Virtus, FT boosted sold single-stock calls amid Q2 contraction
Counterparty Radar: US mutual fund managers cut $4.3 billion in individual equity options
Repo
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
State Street triples repo book to become top US fund dealer
Counterparty Radar: Pimco trades boost Boston bank as sector volumes hold steady in Q4
US retail funds further slash repo borrowing
Counterparty Radar: Manager activity in Q3 2022 lowest in nearly three years; BofA surpasses JP Morgan as top dealer
