Buy side
Big investors turn to off-exchange prediction markets
Millions of OTC event contracts are being traded monthly, with individual deals as big as $10 million
Rapid-fire repo raises hopes of cheaper, faster trading
Tokenised Treasuries piloted by DTCC could squash settlement cycles and enable 24/7 repo
Swaps traders spot their e-FX chance – finally
Swaps and forwards dealers are increasingly using spot e-FX techniques for pricing and risk management
On buy side, equity index options tilted bullish in Q1
Counterparty Radar: Share of notional in short positions hit new low for US life insurers; mutual funds also reported smaller short books
US buy side flocked to FX forwards and options in Q1
Counterparty Radar: Pimco led $187 billion rise in forwards notional among funds, while TIAA drove insurer activity
MSIM retools renminbi options wager
Counterparty Radar: US manager rebuilds USD/CNH call book to $15.7bn with strikes closer to spot and cheaper premiums
Beyond FX HedgePool: what’s next for all-to-all?
Proponents see bright future for trading model, but obstacles to take-up remain
SocGen FX forwards trading rockets with US fund managers
Counterparty Radar: Surge in French bank’s FX forward volumes propels it to second spot in Q1 2026
Yen options dealers struggle to hedge intervention risk
Hedge funds’ bets on BoJ intervention are leaving dealers with vol-surface exposures they can’t hedge cheaply
At the deep end: FX HedgePool’s struggle to stay afloat
Lack of offsetting flow, tech bottlenecks and higher-than-expected costs weighed on start-up’s growth
FactSet’s Portware expands to tackle complex FX
EMS vendor eyes automation for high-touch FX trades while adding connectivity to new venues
Deutsche Bank takes on custodians with automated FX service
Bank claims integration of HausFX with BlackRock’s Aladdin can help cut costs by up to 90%
Bank of England softens tone on CCP cross-product margining
Breeden supports margin efficiencies to encourage more repo clearing, but still warns on leverage
LSEG’s FXall to launch credit-intermediated FX forwards service
Split Risk to allow buy side to tap best spot and swap prices to create forwards, and unbundle market and credit risk
UK insurers turn up leverage on structured gilt trades
Par-par asset swaps give way to higher-leverage structures as funding costs increase
BlackRock uses options to rewire AI bets
Counterparty Radar: Global Allocation Fund shifts from net short to net long derivatives as equity allocation falls
smartTrade eyes role as direct streaming linchpin
Vendor plans to tap growing demand for direct API trading solutions across asset classes
Two fund managers behind surge in ETF options
Counterparty Radar: New data shows notional for the instrument rivals that of equity index options
From pink tickets to Python: Toby Baker on 40 years in FX
T Rowe Price’s departing FX head reflects on the pain points and keys to success for a modern buy-side trading desk
Franklin Templeton closes $5bn yen options book
Counterparty Radar: Asset manager’s bets on USD/JPY soured as yen weakened through Q4
What’s next for Treasury clearing? Cleared buy-side tri-party enhancements at DTCC
Innovations to improve margin efficiency for the buy side and streamline done-away activity with tri-party repo enhancements to FICC’s sponsored and agent clearing services