Tradeweb has connected to the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) request-for-quote (RFQ) platform Conneqtor as demand for ETFs jumps up by a third in Asia. Global X has completed the first transaction using the connection.
In the first three quarters of 2024, Tradeweb reported more than US$1 trillion in ETF trading volumes. Institutional ETF volumes transacted by Asia-based clients of the firm’s RFQ marketplace were up 30% year-on-year.
The initiative aims to improve liquidity access to Japanese exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for institutional investors. As of end-October, 339 Japan-listed ETFs are covered by the service, representing assets under management of JPY 88 million.
Moriyuki Iwanaga, TSE president, commented: “We hope that the new connection with Tradeweb will promote investment in the Japanese market by allowing investors outside Japan, who have had difficulty using Conneqtor, to easily access ETFs listed on the TSE from overseas.”
Through the partnership, Tradeweb’s buy-side clients can include Conneqtor liquidity providers when launching trade enquiries on its Japan-listed ETF marketplace. Transactions including Conneqtor market makers will be cleared and settled within TSE.
Execution management systems Triton by Virtu, Xilix by Broadridge, Smart Bridge Advance by Nomura Research Institute (NRI) and T-Wave by LSEG Data & Analytics are also connected to the RFQ platform. However, Tradeweb is the first RFQ marketplace to connect.
TSE told The DESK that “the connections with other platforms are different from the one with Tradeweb. With other platforms, connectivity is about just sending RFQ and receiving execution results through FIX. Users have to compare prices separately; it is not an integration of liquidity.
“In addition, the connectivity with Tradeweb is the first one providing direct connection to a platform with a truly global client network.”
©Markets Media Europe 2024
