[ I N - D E P T H
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T H E
H E A D
T R A D E R ]
Where’s my Bloomberg?
“Regulation has actually shown how
important the head of trading is now.”
PAUL SQUIRES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TRADING AND
SECURITIES FINANCING, AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS
G
lobal heads of trad-
ing at major asset
management firms
are spending less and
less time actually
trading. After conducting in-depth
interviews with eight heads of
desks, The TRADE discovered
that those occupying these roles
are seeing more of their time tak-
en up by new regulations rather
than trading.
It is no surprise that the all-en-
compassing MiFID II is challeng-
ing the role of the global head of
trading. Despite requiring exten-
sive experience in trading to rise
up through the ranks, it is usually
the case that the bigger the team,
the less time required to trade.
Being a head trader now means
keeping up with market structure
28
TheTrade
Summer 2017
changes and regulation, rather
than with what is going on in the
markets. This has meant a dramatic
reduction in the amount of time
devoted to trading.
Of eight global head traders
interviewed by The TRADE, half
said trading takes up on average
between 0% and 5% of their time
on a weekly basis.
One global head trader says: “I
deal myself on average between 2%
and 5% of the number of equities
and fixed-income every month,
with more concentration on end-of-
momnth for fixed-income and quar-
terly earnings season for equities.”
While this has been a theme for
traders over the last five years, 2017
is shaping up to be a crucial year
for the buy-side to get to grips with
MiFID II in Europe.
One head trader explains: “Regu-
lation is very important and takes
a lot of my time up, not only in
making sure we adhere to the latest
rules but also figuring out how we
need to adapt to the new ways of
trading that have evolved to cope
with the regulatory changes.”
Speaking to The TRADE in its Q4
2016 issue, sources suggested that
some senior traders have volun-
tarily opted to leave their roles
– and in some cases the industry
- because they do not want to face
the barrage of regulatory scrutiny
coming their way. Over the last two
years, The TRADE has counted
no fewer than 20 buy-side heads
of desk or senior traders from big
name European asset managers
leaving their jobs.
Two global head traders told The
TRADE that they have even given
up their Bloomberg terminals,
and another says, “I’m trying to
organise myself to avoid such a
situation.”
One former senior equities trader,
who asked to remain anonymous,
has said the impact of regulation
has diminished the global head
trader role in daily trading activi-
ties, in which “due to previous reg-
ulatory creep the role of hands-on
head of trading has been diminish-
ing to the point where that role is
basically a quasi-compliance/client
sales role.”
“Most traders are pretty self-suf-