MarketAxess Announces Monthly Volume Statistics for February 2024
- Record total credit trading ADV of $15.2 billion in February 2024.
- U.S. high-grade ADV reached $7.7 billion, up 14.6%.
- Decrease in U.S. high-yield trading activity by 37.1%.
- Growth in emerging markets, Eurobonds, and municipal bonds trading.
- Market share for U.S. high-grade at 19.5% and high-yield at 12.9%.
- Introduction of MarketAxess X-Pro and AxessIQ for increased client engagement.
- Total rates ADV declined by 18.6% year-over-year but increased by 13.0% from January 2024.
- Preliminary variable transaction fees per million decreased compared to the prior year due to product mix shift.
- Decrease in U.S. high-yield market share.
- Lower levels of credit spread volatility impacting trading activity.
- Decline in total credit FPM compared to the prior year and January 2024.
- Open Trading® share of total credit trading volume decreased.
- Total rates ADV saw a significant decline of 18.6% year-over-year.
Insights
The reported increase in total credit average daily volume (ADV) to $15.2 billion signifies a robust growth trajectory for MarketAxess, particularly noting the 14.6% rise in U.S. high-grade ADV. This growth, however, is juxtaposed against a decrease in U.S. high-yield ADV by 37.1%, which could indicate a shifting investor preference towards more stable, investment-grade bonds amidst uncertain market conditions. The reduction in estimated market share for U.S. high-yield from 19.2% to 12.9% is a critical metric for stakeholders, as it may reflect competitive pressures or a shift in trading patterns.
Furthermore, the preliminary variable transaction fees per million (FPM) for total credit declining to $152 from the previous year's $168 suggests a change in product mix and a potential decrease in revenue per trade. Investors should monitor whether this trend indicates a strategic pivot or a response to market dynamics such as lower credit spread volatility.
MarketAxess' strategic rollout of MarketAxess X-Pro and the reported increase in client engagement, with 14% of their largest client firms active on the platform, is a forward-looking indicator of the company's potential to capture more market share and enhance liquidity. The 12.5% increase in emerging markets ADV and the 9.1% increase in Eurobonds ADV suggest that the company is successfully expanding its international footprint, which could lead to diversified revenue streams.
However, the drop in Open Trading® share from 36% to 34% might raise concerns about the platform's open trading initiative's momentum. Stakeholders should assess whether this is a temporary fluctuation or indicative of deeper trends in trading preferences.
The reported figures provide a snapshot of the fixed-income market landscape, where the decrease in U.S. Government Bonds ADV by 18.6% could be indicative of broader economic trends, such as interest rate changes or fiscal policy adjustments. The 21.2% increase in ADV for AxessIQ, designed for wealth management and private banking clients, may reflect a growing demand for sophisticated order and execution workflow solutions in the wealth management sector.
Additionally, the change in methodology for calculating statistics, including the shift to using MSRB "flags" for Municipal Bonds and FINRA's U.S. Treasury TRACE data for U.S. Government Bonds, suggests a commitment to data accuracy that could benefit market participants seeking reliable information for decision-making.
Record Total Credit Trading ADV of
Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, commented:
“We delivered record total credit ADV of
Select February 2024 highlights*
-
Record total credit average daily volume (“ADV”) of
$15.2 billion 5.1% . -
Record
U.S. high-grade ADV of$7.7 14.6% on an18.6% increase in estimated market ADV. Estimated market share of19.5% , down from20.1% in the prior year on record February new issuance calendar. -
U.S. high-yield ADV of$1.4 billion 37.1% . Estimated market share of12.9% , down from19.2% in the prior year.U.S. high-yield estimated market ADV decreased6.3% . We believe the decrease inU.S. high-yield estimated market share year-over-year was driven, in part, by lower levels of credit spread volatility and a greater focus on the new issue calendar by our long-only client segment. Lower levels of credit spread volatility drove an estimated73.8% decrease in ETF market maker client activity on our platform. -
Emerging markets ADV of
$3.6 billion 12.5% . The year-over-year increase was driven by a6.4% increase in hard currency trading ADV, and a26.5% growth in local currency markets trading ADV.2 -
Eurobonds ADV of
$2.0 9.1% .2 -
Municipal bond ADV of
$434 million 8.0% with estimated market ADV down17.2% . Estimated market share of6.8% , up from5.4% in the prior year.2 -
AxessIQ, the order and execution workflow solution designed for wealth management and private banking clients, achieved ADV of
$141.4 million 21.2% from the prior year. -
34% Open Trading® share3 of total credit trading volume, down from36% in the prior year. -
Total rates ADV of
$19.1 billion 18.6% from prior year, but up13.0% from January 2024. -
The preliminary FPM1 for total credit for February 2024 was approximately
$152 $168 $156 $154 U.S. high-grade. The preliminary FPM for total rates was$4.30 $4.13
*All comparisons versus February 2023 unless otherwise noted.
Table 1: February 2024 trading ADV
| CREDIT | RATES | ||||||||||
| $ in millions (unaudited) |
US/ |
Total
|
Total
|
High-Grade |
High-Yield |
Emerging
|
Eurobonds |
Municipal
|
Total
|
US Govt.
|
Agcy./Other
|
| Feb-24 | 20/21 |
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|
| Feb-23 | 19/20 |
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| % Change |
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( |
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( |
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( |
( |
|
Table 1A: February 2024 estimated market share
| CREDIT | RATES | ||||
(unaudited) |
High-Grade | High-Yield | High-Grade/High-Yield Combined |
Municipals3 | US Govt. Bonds3 |
| Feb-24 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Feb-23 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Bps Change | (60) bps |
(630) bps |
(180) bps |
+140 bps |
(80) bps |
1 The FPM for total credit and total rates for February 2024 are preliminary and may be revised in subsequent updates and public filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any fee information in future press releases.
2 See “General Notes Regarding the Data Presented” below.
3 Open Trading share of total credit trading volume is derived by taking total Open Trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered and dividing by total credit trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered.
4 The number of
General Notes Regarding the Data Presented
Reported MarketAxess volume in all product categories includes only fully electronic trading volume. MarketAxess trading volumes and TRACE reported volumes are available on the Company’s website at investor.marketaxess.com/volume.
Beginning with January 2024, the Company is no longer providing Emerging Markets or Eurobonds market ADV or estimated market share. The Company is currently reviewing its methodology for calculating such statistics, which historically have been derived from MarketAxess TraX data, to ensure that the statistics presented provide a complete and accurate view of the market.
In addition, for periods beginning with January 2024, the Company has made changes to the market volume data used to calculate estimated market share for Municipal and
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the outlook and prospects for Company, market conditions and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company’s future financial and operating performance. These and other statements that relate to future results and events are based on MarketAxess’ current expectations. The Company’s actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including: global economic, political and market factors; the level of trading volume transacted on the MarketAxess platform; the rapidly evolving nature of the electronic financial services industry; the level and intensity of competition in the fixed-income electronic trading industry and the pricing pressures that may result; the variability of our growth rate; our ability to introduce new fee plans and our clients’ response; our ability to attract clients or adapt our technology and marketing strategy to new markets; risks related to our growing international operations; our dependence on our broker-dealer clients; the loss of any of our significant institutional investor clients; our exposure to risks resulting from non-performance by counterparties to transactions executed between our clients in which we act as an intermediary in matched principal trades; risks related to self-clearing; risks related to sanctions levied against states or individuals that could expose us to operational or regulatory risks; the effect of rapid market or technological changes on us and the users of our technology; our dependence on third-party suppliers for key products and services; our ability to successfully maintain the integrity of our trading platform and our response to system failures, capacity constraints and business interruptions; the occurrence of design defects, errors, failures or delays with our platforms, products or services; our vulnerability to malicious cyber-attacks and attempted cybersecurity breaches; our actual or perceived failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights or technology and defend against intellectual property infringement or other claims; our ability to enter into strategic alliances and to acquire other businesses and successfully integrate them with our business; our dependence on our management team and our ability to attract and retain talent; limitations on our flexibility because we operate in a highly regulated industry; the increasing government regulation of us and our clients; risks related to the divergence of
About MarketAxess
MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform that delivers greater trading efficiency, a diversified pool of liquidity and significant cost savings to institutional investors and broker-dealers across the global fixed-income markets. Over 2,000 firms leverage MarketAxess’ patented technology to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. Our automated and algorithmic trading solutions, combined with our integrated and actionable data offerings, help our clients make faster, better-informed decisions on when and how to trade on our platform. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading® marketplace is widely regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets. Founded in 2000, MarketAxess connects a robust network of market participants through an advanced full trading lifecycle solution that includes automated trading solutions, intelligent data and index products and a range of post-trade services. Learn more at www.marketaxess.com and on X @MarketAxess.
Table 2: Trading Volume Detail |
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Month Ended February 29 / 28, |
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In millions (unaudited) |
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|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|
% Change |
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|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Volume |
|
|
ADV |
|
|
Volume |
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|
|
ADV |
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|
Volume |
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|
ADV |
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||||||
Credit |
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|
|
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High-grade |
|
|
$ |
154,246 |
|
|
$ |
7,712 |
|
|
$ |
127,843 |
|
|
|
$ |
6,729 |
|
|
|
20.7 |
|
% |
|
14.6 |
|
% |
High-yield |
|
|
|
28,821 |
|
|
|
1,441 |
|
|
|
43,502 |
|
|
|
|
2,290 |
|
|
|
(33.7 |
) |
|
|
(37.1 |
) |
|
Emerging markets |
|
|
|
72,517 |
|
|
|
3,626 |
|
|
|
61,217 |
|
|
|
|
3,222 |
|
|
|
18.5 |
|
|
|
12.5 |
|
|
Eurobonds |
|
|
|
40,986 |
|
|
|
1,952 |
|
|
|
35,808 |
|
|
|
|
1,790 |
|
|
|
14.5 |
|
|
|
9.1 |
|
|
Other credit |
|
|
|
8,912 |
|
|
|
445 |
|
|
|
7,881 |
|
|
|
|
415 |
|
|
|
13.1 |
|
|
|
7.2 |
|
|
Total credit trading1 |
|
|
|
305,482 |
|
|
|
15,176 |
|
|
|
276,251 |
|
|
|
|
14,446 |
|
|
|
10.6 |
|
|
|
5.1 |
|
|
Rates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
372,261 |
|
|
|
18,613 |
|
|
|
437,356 |
|
|
|
|
23,019 |
|
|
|
(14.9 |
) |
|
|
(19.1 |
) |
|
Agency and other government bonds1 |
|
|
|
9,750 |
|
|
|
472 |
|
|
|
8,467 |
|
|
|
|
431 |
|
|
|
15.2 |
|
|
|
9.5 |
|
|
Total rates trading |
|
|
|
382,011 |
|
|
|
19,085 |
|
|
|
445,823 |
|
|
|
|
23,450 |
|
|
|
(14.3 |
) |
|
|
(18.6 |
) |
|
Total trading |
|
|
$ |
687,493 |
|
|
$ |
34,261 |
|
|
$ |
722,074 |
|
|
|
$ |
37,896 |
|
|
|
(4.8 |
) |
|
|
(9.6 |
) |
|
Number of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Number of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 |
|
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Year-to-Date Ended February 29 / 28, |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
In millions (unaudited) |
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|
% Change |
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Volume |
|
|
ADV |
|
|
Volume |
|
|
|
ADV |
|
|
Volume |
|
|
ADV |
|
|
||||||
Credit |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High-grade |
|
|
$ |
311,339 |
|
|
$ |
7,594 |
|
|
$ |
252,301 |
|
|
|
$ |
6,469 |
|
|
|
23.4 |
|
% |
|
17.4 |
|
% |
High-yield |
|
|
|
58,151 |
|
|
|
1,418 |
|
|
|
80,962 |
|
|
|
|
2,076 |
|
|
|
(28.2 |
) |
|
|
(31.7 |
) |
|
Emerging markets |
|
|
|
150,766 |
|
|
|
3,677 |
|
|
|
130,095 |
|
|
|
|
3,336 |
|
|
|
15.9 |
|
|
|
10.2 |
|
|
Eurobonds |
|
|
|
83,741 |
|
|
|
1,947 |
|
|
|
76,406 |
|
|
|
|
1,864 |
|
|
|
9.6 |
|
|
|
4.5 |
|
|
Other credit |
|
|
|
17,685 |
|
|
|
431 |
|
|
|
18,417 |
|
|
|
|
472 |
|
|
|
(4.0 |
) |
|
|
(8.7 |
) |
|
Total credit trading1 |
|
|
|
621,682 |
|
|
|
15,067 |
|
|
|
558,181 |
|
|
|
|
14,217 |
|
|
|
11.4 |
|
|
|
6.0 |
|
|
Rates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
716,788 |
|
|
|
17,483 |
|
|
|
879,442 |
|
|
|
|
22,550 |
|
|
|
(18.5 |
) |
|
|
(22.5 |
) |
|
Agency and other government bonds1 |
|
|
|
20,266 |
|
|
|
478 |
|
|
|
17,914 |
|
|
|
|
445 |
|
|
|
13.1 |
|
|
|
7.4 |
|
|
Total rates trading |
|
|
|
737,054 |
|
|
|
17,961 |
|
|
|
897,356 |
|
|
|
|
22,995 |
|
|
|
(17.9 |
) |
|
|
(21.9 |
) |
|
Total trading |
|
|
$ |
1,358,736 |
|
|
$ |
33,028 |
|
|
$ |
1,455,537 |
|
|
|
$ |
37,212 |
|
|
|
(6.7 |
) |
|
|
(11.2 |
) |
|
Number of |
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|
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|
41 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
39 |
|
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Number of |
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|
43 |
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41 |
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1 Consistent with FINRA TRACE reporting standards, both sides of trades are included in the Company's reported volumes when the Company executes trades on a matched principal basis between two counterparties. |
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2 Consistent with industry standards, |
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3 The number of |
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4 The number of |
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240304988693/en/
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Stephen Davidson
MarketAxess Holdings Inc.
+1 212 813 6313
sdavidson2@marketaxess.com
MEDIA RELATIONS
Marisha Mistry
MarketAxess Holdings Inc.
+1 917 267 1232
mmistry@marketaxess.com
Source: MarketAxess Holdings Inc.
FAQ
What was MarketAxess' total credit trading ADV in February 2024?
How much was the U.S. high-grade ADV for MarketAxess in February 2024?
What was the change in U.S. high-yield trading activity for MarketAxess in February 2024?
What contributed to the growth in MarketAxess' trading volumes despite lower U.S. high-yield trading activity?
What was the market share for U.S. high-grade and high-yield for MarketAxess in February 2024?
