Best Execution & Transaction Cost Analysis
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Asia-Pacific: Best-Execution Regulations on the Way?
September 22, 2008
While the U.S. and European Union have rules mandating that brokerages find the best possible price for clients, there are currently no equivalents in the Asia-Pacific region. That could change, however, as algorithmic trading, technology advances and buy-side pressure nudge the more developed economies in that direction.
"The buy side is taking increasing control of the trading process and the concept of best execution is gaining traction, although we are still some years behind the U.S., and to a lesser extent Europe, in terms of the availability of alternative trading venues," said Gabe Butler, director of sales in Hong Kong for New York-based agency brokerage Investment Technology Group (ITG). There are more than 40 alternative trading systems (ATSs) in the U.S., and a bevy of platforms have been launched in the EU since the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) became effective late last year.
In Australia, the Investment & Financial Services Association--a trade group representing buy-side firms--issued guidance in 2006, but the country has not yet made best execution a regulatory requirement. Brokers, however, are taking the idea seriously, due in part to buy-side demand.
Steven Hammerton, head of portfolio trading and direct execution at UBS Securities Australia in Sydney, noted that "UBS has been strictly in compliance with best execution, and we think it's something very important to our clients. We've been investing heavily to achieve best execution." Hammerton pointed to the firm's algorithms, which are "written in a way to help you achieve best execution in a fast-moving market."
The growing use of algorithmic trading and direct-market access (DMA) in Australia this year has increased volatility and widened spreads, which "has resulted in the standard deviation of estimated trading cost more than doubling," said David Broadfield, analyst at ITG and author of a recent report on Australian market microstructure. "This highlights the importance of execution to the overall investment process and the potential danger of failing to adopt best-execution practices."
Fund managers need to pay attention to hidden costs, said Michael Corcoran, ITG's Sydney-based director of trading. Research shows that obvious costs--broker commissions and tax--are staying close to 18 basis points, said Corcoran, whereas hidden costs raise that to 48 basis points. "They will have to more aggressively reduce the hidden costs within their portfolios if they want to stay in the game," he said, adding that advanced trading methods can help bring those costs down once they are identified.
The game is about to change in Australia, as regulators are expected to open the Australian Stock Exchange up to competition from ATSs. Among those waiting for final approval are the AXE electronic communications network-owned by the New Zealand Exchange and a consortium of investment banks--Liquidnet Australia and Instinet--backed Chi-X.
"With the regulatory changes, there will be more electronic exchanges in the future," said UBS's Hammerton, adding that his firm will be well positioned to seek liquidity from those destinations. "We have invested in smart-order routing technology and will be able to offer clients smart DMA, which routes to the exchange with the best price," he said.
Japanese ATSs
In Japan, "buy-side firms still have to go through brokers because direct connections to the exchanges are not available inside Japan," explained Neil Katkov, Tokyo-based head of Asia research for Celent. "Less competition leads to an opaque market, where investors can't be well protected." For example, he said, several large local brokers are internalizing trades and benefiting from wide spreads.
