Axess IQ: Unlocking front-to-back efficiency for private banks
Why we tailored Axess IQ for relationship managers
The most taxing problem I faced in my previous life, at the central fixed income execution desk of a global private bank, was connecting the trading desk with the investment decision makers. Constant requests for indicative prices and market insights ate up a substantial portion of the day.
This disconnect between the trading desk and the client/financial advisors and relationship managers (we’ll call them RMs) led to operational inefficiencies and wasted time. This was a key problem I wanted to solve when I joined MarketAxess. Now that Axess IQ, our one-stop-trading-shop for wealth managers and private banks, is up and running with several clients across the globe, our attention is on streamlining communication between RMs and the trading desk. I see the problem as twofold: transparency and efficiency.
Opaque markets
A typical day involves countless chat messages or phone calls from RMs asking “where is the market?” or “my client is interested in xyz bond, where is it trading? Is there liquidity?” These are important and time sensitive messages that require urgent attention so the bank can deliver the best possible service to their clients. Without adequate visibility into markets, RMs can’t accurately advise their clients on investment decisions, or worse, provide inaccurate information…
Data is the lifeblood of the modern world, and the simple fact is RMs don’t have access to reliable, up-to-date fixed income data sets. There is no ‘Stocks’ app for fixed income markets. RMs are not “in the market” like a trader and often only see non-tradable or day-old prices for just the most liquid securities.
How can RMs be expected to advise clients on financial decisions without the right data at their fingertips? And why is something as archaic as picking up the phone and calling the trading desk the only viable stop-gap solution?
Efficiency, or lack thereof
Once a client and RM have made their investment decision the next stumbling block to a truly efficient desk— how does the RM communicate the order to the trading desk? And how can they track its progress? Large banks have their core banking infrastructure connected to an OMS but this is not necessarily the case for all institutions or for all client segments.
When I was trading, for every order placed by an RM via phone or chat, I was constantly bombarded for updates. This unnecessary distraction added pressure and took my attention away from executing trades. I often found myself wishing for a solution that could easily and effortlessly give my RMs a live status update of all their open orders.
Enter Axess IQ for RMs
The current solutions in the market are neither cost-effective nor all encompassing – they may solve for a part of the problem but still leave much to be desired. That’s why we’ve tailored a special version of Axess IQ specifically for RMs. All the great features we’ve built for traders – unparalleled market insight tools, streamlined order management, and efficiency enhancers—are all repackaged and designed specifically for the RM workflow.
As an RM, you’ll now have access to almost the same data and market insight that the trading desk sees. You can now drop your orders into the trading desk’s order queue and use the same smart order queue to track your live orders. Now, you can finally concentrate on what you do best!
For the traders out there, don’t worry we haven’t given RMs unrestricted access to the platform, they can’t interact with, or impact the market: this is still only possible for traders. Traders also have full control of the data that RMs have access to, meaning only the most relevant information is shared with the RMs. Think of it as a “view-only” option, that the trading desk has full control over, designed to save you both time and effort.
At last, RMs and traders can really work together as a team.
Erik Tham