Tradeweb and FTSE Russell Announce Strategic Partnership

Rhea-AI Summary

Tradeweb and FTSE Russell announce strategic partnership to develop next generation of fixed income index pricing and trading products

Positive

• The partnership aims to expand benchmark pricing and index inclusion across fixed income products, providing next-generation pricing for a broader range of securities. The collaboration will enhance trading functionality for FTSE Russell Fixed Income indices and offer tools and protocols for efficient index rebalancing trades.

Negative

• None.

Collaboration to expand benchmark pricing, broaden index inclusion and enhance trading functionality across fixed income products

• The partnership seeks to develop the next generation of fixed income pricing and index trading products by leveraging FTSE Russell’s innovative Fixed Income index solutions and Tradeweb’s fixed income trading platform and data capabilities.
• Fixed Income closing prices will be administered as benchmarks by FTSE Russell and be derived from trading activity on Tradeweb’s platform.
• The partnership aims to extend pricing coverage to most constituents featured in the FTSE Fixed Income Index universes and explore incorporating new Tradeweb pricing sets into FTSE Fixed Income Indices.

LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, and FTSE Russell, an LSEG business, today announced a strategic partnership to develop the next generation of fixed income index pricing and index trading products.

Expanded Benchmark Pricing. The firms aim to provide next-generation pricing across a broader range of fixed income securities, which will be administered by FTSE Russell as benchmarks. Expanding their existing collaboration on benchmark pricing for UK Gilt and European Government bonds, the objective is to deliver robust, algorithmic, and reliable pricing. The closing prices amalgamate trading activity from Tradeweb’s electronic platform, enabling closer alignment with actual trading levels and intraday pricing. These prices are administered in accordance with the EU and UK Benchmark Regulation and the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks and can be used as reference rates for a broad range of use cases including trade-at-close transactions and derivatives contracts.

Broad Index Inclusion. In the coming months, Tradeweb and FTSE Russell will continue to collaborate on fixed income pricing sets to extend coverage across multiple regions and fixed income asset classes. Over time, FTSE Russell will explore incorporating Tradeweb pricing into FTSE Fixed Income indices, starting with FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI), a flagship index comprised of sovereign debt from over 20 countries and denominated in a variety of currencies.

Enhanced Trading Functionality. Tradeweb seeks to expand and enhance electronic trading functionality for FTSE Russell Fixed Income indices and customized baskets through tools and protocols such as RFQ (request-for-quote), AiEX (Automated Intelligent Execution tool) and Portfolio Trading, offering trade-at-market close, trade-at-month-end and other features conducive to index rebalancing trades. For clients seeking to efficiently express a view on FTSE Russell indices and baskets, providing enhanced trading functionality can help efficiently manage what are often their largest and most critical trades.

Lisa Schirf, Global Head of Data & Analytics at Tradeweb, said: “Tradeweb’s collaboration with FTSE Russell will provide clients with verified benchmarks they can use as reliable closing prices for their end-of-day trading strategies and other purposes. The Tradeweb FTSE closing prices will create a foundation across global Fixed Income markets for consistent end-of-day and intraday prices and is another way we are investing in the electronification of the markets.”

Scott Harman, Head of Fixed Income Indices at FTSE Russell, said: “With our comprehensive suite of sophisticated Fixed Income Indices and a growing need for innovative pricing solutions from our clients, our deeper collaboration with Tradeweb will enable us to bring to market greater tractability and tradability of our indices. We are very excited by the opportunity this relationship will bring and how it has the potential to fundamentally change the Fixed Income ecosystem.”

Trusted reference price data is critical for financial firms to manage investment portfolios, evaluate the fair value of securities, perform compliance, and satisfy general accounting standards. Tradeweb and FTSE recently launched benchmark closing prices for European Government Bonds in May 2023, expanding on Tradeweb’s well-established UK Gilt Closing Prices. Administered in accordance with the EU and UK Benchmark Regulation and the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, Tradeweb FTSE Euro Government Bond Closing Prices are available from Tradeweb and provide end-of-day reference prices for Euro-denominated nominal bonds issued by Austria, Belgium, Finland, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

About Tradeweb Markets:

Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW) is a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets. Founded in 1996, Tradeweb provides access to markets, data and analytics, electronic trading, straight-through-processing and reporting for more than 40 products to clients in the institutional, wholesale and retail markets. Advanced technologies developed by Tradeweb enhance price discovery, order execution and trade workflows while allowing for greater scale and helping to reduce risks in client trading operations. Tradeweb serves more than 2,500 clients in more than 65 countries. On average, Tradeweb facilitated more than $1.2 trillion in notional value traded per day over the past four fiscal quarters. For more information, please go to www.tradeweb.com

About FTSE Russell, an LSEG business:

FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 70 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $20.1 trillion is currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. For over 30 years, leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks have chosen FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance and embraces the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.

FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements related to, among other things, our outlook and future performance, the industry and markets in which we operate, our expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, prospects and assumptions and future events are forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in documents of Tradeweb Markets Inc. on file with or furnished to the SEC, may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results of operations, financial condition or liquidity, and the development of the industry and markets in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity, and events in the industry and markets in which we operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this release, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods.

Any forward-looking statement that we make in this release speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231024013893/en/

Media:

Daniel Noonan, Tradeweb

+1 646 767 4677

Daniel.Noonan@Tradeweb.com

Simon Henrick, LSEG

+44 (0) 20 7797 1222

newsroom@lseg.com

Investors:

Ashley Serrao, Tradeweb

+1 646 430 6027

Ashley.Serrao@Tradeweb.com



Sameer Murukutla, Tradeweb

+1 646 767 4864

Sameer.Murukutla@Tradeweb.com

Source: Tradeweb Markets Inc.

FAQ

What is the objective of the partnership between Tradeweb and FTSE Russell?

The objective is to develop the next generation of fixed income index pricing and trading products.

What will be administered by FTSE Russell as benchmarks?

Fixed income closing prices will be administered as benchmarks by FTSE Russell.

What will the partnership explore incorporating into FTSE Fixed Income Indices?

The partnership will explore incorporating new Tradeweb pricing sets into FTSE Fixed Income Indices.

What are some of the tools and protocols that will be offered for index rebalancing trades?

Tools and protocols such as RFQ (request-for-quote), AiEX (Automated Intelligent Execution tool), and Portfolio Trading will be offered for index rebalancing trades.

What are the benefits of the partnership for clients?

Clients will have access to verified benchmarks for their end-of-day trading strategies and other purposes, as well as enhanced trading functionality for efficient management of index trades.