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Friday, November 1, 2024
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TECH TUESDAY: The Impact of Elections on the Markets

By
Phil Mackintosh, Chief Economist, Nasdaq
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TECH TUESDAY is a weekly content series covering all aspects of capital markets technology. TECH TUESDAY is produced in collaboration with Nasdaq.

There have been a lot of large countries with elections this year, but perhaps none will be more watched than the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Even though the actual election isn’t until Nov. 5, elections can start impacting markets much earlier. That’s because the election cycle begins long before November, and stock markets are good at pricing in future events and revenues. 

In your typical election year, there are primaries from January to May, where each state votes on the candidate it wants to represent its party in the election. Then, the candidates are out on the campaign trail before we see debates, often in September and October. Finally, we vote in early November.

Of course, this year has been anything but typical! 

We had one unusually early debate in June. Then the top of the Democratic ticket changed in July, with Vice President Harris replacing President Biden.

And we’ve just had our first (and possibly last) presidential debate with the current candidates, with a vice presidential debate still to come. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, we’ll vote. 

Election uncertainty adds to higher volatility (before the election)

With this looking like it will be a close election, we should expect increased volatility. 

If we measure equity volatility by the VIX, we see it increases nearly 45% between August and October in close election years (chart below, red bars). Then, with the election results usually known by early November, volatility starts to fall.

Interestingly, when the election isn’t close (green bars), volatility is close to flat throughout the end of the year, reflecting market confidence about who will win.

However, if we look at non-election years, we see that some of this pattern is a seasonal trend. Volatility rises about 15% between August and October (orange bars) in other years, too.

Chart 1: Close elections create uncertainty, driving increased volatility in run up to election

Close elections create uncertainty, driving increased volatility in run up to election

Election certainty adds to higher trading (after the election)

Interestingly, trading actually picks up more after the election, once the election result is known. That shows traders need to rebalance their portfolios to account for the expected sector and stock beneficiaries from the now more certain policy changes ahead. 

Still, the impact on volumes changes from election to election. For 2012, volumes peaked about 30% higher than on election day (blue line). But for the last two elections, volumes peaked about 75%-90% higher than on their election days (green and orange lines)!

Chart 2: After the election result is known, trading increases and investors rebalance their portfolios

After the election result is known, trading increases and investors rebalance their portfolios

Elections trading spikes are smaller than for other big events

While these are relatively big increases in volumes in the span of a few days, the increase associated with elections tends to be smaller than other major events.

For example, in the last couple presidential elections, activity – i.e., volumes and message traffic – increased between 58% and 76% (chart below, red bars). 

That’s about the same magnitude as the response to the short-lived regional bank crisis in 2023, and the Fed’s pivot to tightening rates in early 2022 (orange bars). Even a largely unexplained selloff in February 2018 saw an increase in activity 2-3x that of the last two elections.

Chart 3: Elections increase activity, but not as much as other major events

Elections increase activity, but not as much as other major events

Of course, some of this difference comes down to the fact that these other events are typically unexpected, unlike elections.

Election uncertainty tends to lower returns

We’ve already shown that elections, and especially close elections, increase volatility and trading activity. But they also impact returns.

That’s because close elections create uncertainty for investors and markets, since they can’t be confident who will win, or what rules and industries might change.

On average, in close elections (chart below, red line), the market: 

  • Sells off through March – the heart of primary season. 
  • Tends to gain once the candidates are narrowed down to two.
  • Gets more volatile when we get to debate season in September and October, when the election really heats up, often seeing stocks selloff again. 

Once the election is decided, though, the market typically rallies through the end of the year, finishing the year up almost 3% – regardless of who wins!

In comparison, non-election years, which don’t have the same level of political uncertainty, see a much more consistent gain, adding to about 9% over the course of the year (orange line).

Chart 4: Close elections see selloff during primaries and again just ahead of election

Close elections see selloff during primaries and again just ahead of election

Although what we’ve seen this year is far from normal (black line). Perhaps what this shows is that, regardless of what happens in an election year, macroeconomics matters.

Economics matters more than who wins

…and that’s true historically, too.

Republicans and democrats might think who wins matters a lot to markets. After all, their policies help shape how the economy works going forward.

However, looking at equity market total returns for each “presidential cycle” (the four years following a president’s election), we see that there’s no clear benefit for things like going from Republican (red bars) to Democrat (blue bars) or vice versa or winning re-election (darker red and blue bars). 

Instead, the one clear trend is that the economy matters a lot. In fact, the average total return for terms that overlapped with recession (grey arrows) is 30%, compared to 62% for those that didn’t.

Chart 5: Recessions are biggest driver of returns during a presidency, much more than party

Recessions are biggest driver of returns during a presidency, much more than party

So, much more than who’s in the White House, it’s the economy that matters to markets.

Elections matter to markets, but macro matters, too

If history is a guide, we should be prepared for higher volatility, increased activity and potentially lower returns. At least for short periods this year.

But the data show that macro matters, so investors need to watch the global economy, too. The predicted soft landing and Fed rate cuts this year may be more important than whoever is in the White House in 2025. 

Michael Normyle, U.S. Economist at Nasdaq, contributed to this article. 

Creating tomorrow’s markets today. Find out more about Nasdaq’s offerings to drive your business forward here.

Data Quality is Critical for Trading Firms

By
Anna Lyudvig
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Earlier this month, Bloomberg launched its Virtual Data Room (VDR), which is transforming how firms access and evaluate data. Traders Magazine caught up with Brian Doherty, Bloomberg’s Global Head of Data License and Michael Beal, Head of Data Science for Bloomberg Enterprise Data, to explore key strategies for optimizing data access and management.

Brian Doherty

Why are firms increasingly seeking reliable data to drive their investment decisions?

Brian Doherty: We are constantly seeing new cases for the data we provide – and we provide a lot of data, to the tune of 100 billion data points published every day. Our data content spans company data, sustainability data, pricing, reference, investment research, regulatory data, and more. Building process and application on a foundation of high quality, reliable data means clients’ development teams can spend more time on business logic and actioning opportunities and less on data engineering and data wrangling.

What are the current data management technologies and trends? 

Michael Beal: The key trend we see is the ability to dramatically reduce the time to value. Clients are seeking opportunities from an ever growing catalog of data but the time and resources required to identify if data can actually meet their requirements is a substantial constraint. Technology that allows quants, data scientists and analysts to evaluate more data content sets in less time is critical to driving business success. In the early days, firms tended to focus more on quantity over quality like “big data”. Now the industry is very focused on the quality of the data powering their models.

Can you touch on the importance of offerings that simplify the trialing process and allow firms to quickly test and validate data without extensive onboarding? 

Brian Doherty: Clients want to quickly discover, validate and test data so that they can make well informed decisions, rapidly. For example, Bloomberg’s VDR is a secure, hosted python environment for firms to interact with Bloomberg’s comprehensive catalog of data, including historical data, without the need to install software, or download and onboard files. This piece is really important because it means firms get immediate access to structured data in an environment that they are comfortable working in – so with minimal effort, they can gain the insight they need to be confident in their data purchasing decision.

Michael Beal

Why do firms need to be able to gain insights with minimal effort more than ever?

Michael Beal: Firms face both staggering volumes of data as well as exponential pressure to secure competitive advantages.

With the pressure on firms to secure competitive advantages, why are faster data purchase decisions and operational workflows critical? 

Brian Doherty: Clients want their highly skilled but scarce technical resources focused on delivering business value. The less time and money firms spend searching for data to feed their bespoke investment strategies, the more time and resources they have to analyze that data. It’s in this analysis phase where firms can really set themselves apart by discovering niche investment opportunities and circumventing risks.

Institutional Investors Focused on Changing Data Landscape

By
Press Release
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Pete Cherecwich, Northern Trust

Institutional investors remain acutely focused on the changing data landscape, recognising the benefits of emerging technology while keeping an eye on ongoing concerns surrounding cyber risks and AI-driven threats. This is according to live poll survey results from Northern Trust’s recent technology symposium, ‘Tech Horizons: Exploring the Future of Innovation’.

More than 100 investment professionals and industry consultants attended Northern Trust’s event, held in London (17 September 2024). The symposium featured industry and Northern Trust experts discussing topics such as data as a strategic asset, misconceptions about digital assets, how cloud technology and AI will transform the future and the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

According to the survey, 34% of respondents have already incorporated or plan to add digital assets to their investment portfolios in the near future. This strategic movement underscores the growing recognition of the potential for digital assets to enhance diversification and drive innovation within investment line-ups.

The survey also reveals that 66% of respondents believe private assets will benefit the most from a transition to digital formats. This is closely followed by real world assets such as commodities and property (53%) and money market funds (36%). These insights reflect a broader industry trend towards the digitization of traditionally illiquid asset classes, aiming to unlock new efficiencies and value.

Cybersecurity remains a paramount concern, with 88% of respondents identifying cyber risk as a top or major issue for their organizations. The potential threats posed by advancements in AI are also significant, with 81% of respondents expressing high or moderate concern about AI-driven threats or attacks.

In the realm of AI’s positive impact, more than a third of respondents believe AI has the potential to significantly enhance portfolio optimization. Furthermore, 26% of respondents anticipate AI will transform their manager due diligence processes, while 21% foresee a substantial impact on risk management procedures.

“These findings underscore the duality of opportunities and challenges as our clients navigate their data needs with the emerging integration of digital assets and advanced technologies,” said Pete Cherecwich, incoming Chief Operating Officer at Northern Trust. “As the investment landscape continues to evolve, we remain committed to providing our clients with the insights and solutions needed to manage these dynamic changes.”

“Despite data’s importance, there can be a disconnect between its role and its integration with business strategy,” said Kelley Conway, head of Corporate and Digital Strategy at Northern Trust. “The survey found that only 62% of respondents have a data strategy in place, which reveals a significant gap between the value they place on data and their ability to put it to effective use in their business.”

Source: Northern Trust

Asset Managers Broaden Access to Private Markets

By
Shanny Basar
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Henry McVey, KKR

BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors have announced initiatives to widen investor access to private markets, as an additional $1 trillion in retail assets could be invested in alternatives over the next five years.

Henry McVey, KKR

Henry McVey, chief investment officer of KKR’s balance sheet and head of global macro and asset allocation, said in a report that the private alternatives market is likely to surpass the current estimate of $24 trillion by 2028. The alternative investment firm’s report, An Alternative Perspective: Past, Present, and Future,” said private alternatives can help close the global gap in retirement savings shortfalls, estimated to be around $70 trillion, and that private capital will be needed for key areas of economic investment, especially infrastructure, and to finance the global energy transition, including renewable energy development and brown-to-green transformations.

“Individual investors are increasingly embracing the use of alternatives, with estimates suggesting that an additional $1 trillion in retail assets could be invested in alternatives over the next five years,” added McVey.

The demand for access to private markets has been shown by the announcement of initiatives from both BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors in September 2024 as they look to democratize access in different ways.

State Street and Apollo

State Street Global Advisors, the asset management arm of State Street, said it is working with Apollo Global Management, an alternative assets and retirement solutions provider to expand investor access to private market opportunities, including private investment grade credit. As of 30 June 2024, Apollo reported more than $145bn of origination in the previous twelve months.

Anna Paglia, chief business officer at State Street Global Advisors, said in a statement that demand for private assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming decade, but they have only mainly been open to large institutions and ultra-high net worth investors. As a result, State Street Global Advisors will be working with Apollo to democratize access to private asset exposures through exchange-traded funds and other investment products.

Anna Paglia, State Street Global Advisors

“It is our goal to bring these investments to scale and help facilitate the process of making private assets more accessible and liquid over time,” added Paglia. “We see this as only the beginning of a new wave of innovation as public and private markets increasingly converge.”

State Street’s planned private credit ETF may herald a new era according to asset management data provider Morningstar. Brian Moriarty, associate director, fixed-income strategies and Ryan Jackson, manager research analyst, passive strategies at Morningstar, said in a report that State Street and Apollo Global Management have filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests in public and private credit in one ETF portfolio, which is the “first ETF of its kind.”

“The announcement raised a flurry of questions while the SEC decides whether to approve SPDR SSGA Apollo IG Public and Private Credit ETF,” they added.

The Morningstar analysts highlighted that private credit is unavailable to most investors because it requires high investment minimums and long lockup periods.

“Other ETFs have attempted to offer private credit exposure through public investments, but this one would be the first to hold private credit directly—a strategy that comes with challenges,” they said.

These challenges include that private credit is illiquid, as these instruments are typically wholly owned by the lender, and valuation as private credit managers usually have to rely on third-party firms to value their investments as they rarely trade.

In order to overcome these challenges Apollo has entered a contractual agreement with the fund to act as a liquidity provider, according to Morningstar, and so will sell these instruments to the fund and promise to buy them back at the request of State Street. The portfolio could become illiquid if Apollo fails to provide the bids. Morningstar said the SEC filing does not disclose any reference to a financial arrangement between the fund and Apollo.

“However, there are several issues with this proposed ETF, all of which boil down to the fact that one firm (Apollo) appears to be the valuation provider, originator, buyer, and seller of the fund’s private credit investments, which may constitute the bulk of this ETF’s portfolio,” added Morningstar. “The ball is now in the SEC’s court.”

Morningstar expects the State Street-Apollo venture to be “the first of many private-market ETF proposals.”

Source: Partners Group

BlackRock and Partners Group

BlackRock and Partners Group said in a statement that they have partnered to launch a multi-private markets models solution by providing access to private equity, private credit and real assets in a single portfolio which is not currently available to the U.S. wealth market. They described this “first-of-its-kind solution” as empowering advisors to offer a diversified alternatives portfolio with the simplicity, efficiency and practice management benefits of a traditional public markets model.

 Source: KKR

Mark Wiedman, head of BlackRock’s global client business, said in a statement: “In a world where private markets are growing by $1 trillion or more every year, many financial advisors still find it too difficult to help their clients participate. We aim to crack that.”

Steffen Meister, executive chairman of Partners Group, added that this separately managed account solution has the potential to revolutionize the wealth management industry.

“The financing of business has undergone a major transformation in recent decades with private markets playing a key role in the real economy, so it is vital that investors have access to private markets investments as part of a balanced portfolio,” said Meister.

BlackRock and Partners Group continued that retail wealth investors are leading the adoption of private markets and allocated $2.3 trillion to private markets in 2020 . They are expected to increase their allocations to $5.1 trillion by 2025 according to a Morgan Stanley/Oliver Wyman Study.

Managed models also present a significant growth opportunity. BlackRock expects managed model portfolios to roughly double in assets under management over the next five years, growing into a $10-trillion business.

Larry Fink, BlackRock

Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock, has said he believes the asset manager can lead the indexing of private markets, in the same way that indexing has become the language of public markets.

In June this year BlacKRock agreed to acquire Preqin, an independent provider of private markets data, for  £2.55bn, or approximately $3.2bn in cash.

Fink said on a conference call about the acquisition that the acquisition is about driving evolution and growth in private markets by measuring them, understanding their drivers of performance and making them more investable.

“We envision we can bring the principles of indexing, and even iShares [BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds business], to the private markets,” he added. “We anticipate indexes and data will be important future drivers of the democratisation of all alternatives, and this acquisition is the unlock.”

BlackRock and Partners Group said in a report that the growing role of private markets in financing the economy has increased fundraising for the asset class, which has now surpassed global public markets equity issuance each year since 2016.

Source: Partners Group

The report said private markets are financing a broad cross-section of the economy, with around 87% of US companies that have over $100m in revenue being privately owned as of last year.

“Total assets under management across private markets asset classes is expected to reach U$30 trillion by the early 2030s, up from $15 trillion last year,” added the report.

TXSE Group Announces Veteran Leadership Team

By
Press Release
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James Lee, TXSE

September 30, 2024

DALLAS, Sept. 30, 2024 — TXSE Group Inc announced today its executive leadership team, composed of seasoned professionals with decades of experience in market structure, regulation, and corporate governance. Drawing on backgrounds in both the public and private sectors, the team has played an instrumental role in shaping the Texas Stock Exchange as it works to revitalize competition for issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants. 

“We are thrilled to have such a talented group of business, market structure, and policy leaders on our team,” said James Lee, founder and CEO of TXSE Group Inc. “These individuals have tremendous expertise in the markets as well as broader experience building and leading companies that have propelled their industries. Their perspectives will be invaluable as we position TXSE for success now and for the next generation.”    

TXSE is proud to have industry veterans Cam Smith and Jeff Brown among its top executives. Smith has spent decades at the intersection of trading, regulation, compliance, and innovation and serves as TXSE’s global head of trading and co-president. Brown was acting general counsel at Charles Schwab and serves as general counsel of TXSE Group Inc and chief regulatory officer of the exchange. TXSE’s corporate listings team is led by Nicole Chambers, who covered the Texas market for Nasdaq for nearly 17 years, and Jeff Karcher and Mark Cunningham, who covered the southeast U.S. and Texas during long careers with the New York Stock Exchange.  

TXSE also aims to drive innovation and efficiency for investors. To lead that effort, Rick Yoder joined TXSE as chief technology officer after serving as director of software development at Intercontinental Exchange Data Services. Exchange veterans Jonathan Ross and Adrian Falcone are lead architect and developer and head of technology operations, respectively. Ross previously served as chief technology officer at Nasdaq, and Falcone’s past experience includes tenure as technical operations engineer at the Members Exchange. Additionally, Bob Kenny serves as senior software developer after working in data services and development at Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange. 

TXSE Group Inc’s board of directors includes legendary Texas business leaders such as Tom Long, co-chief executive of Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET), and Paul Foster, who founded Western Refining and oversaw its growth into a Fortune 200 company. Foster is currently the founder and chief executive of Franklin Mountain Investments. Tyson Tuttle, former chief executive of semiconductor manufacturer Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), also serves on the board. 

The board is honored to include the longest-serving governor of the state of Texas, the Honorable Rick Perry, who also served as U.S. Energy Secretary. Rick Roberts, a former commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Alex Bussandri, global head of strategy at Citadel Securities, sit on the board as well. BlackRock Vice Chairman Mark McCombe serves as a board observer.  

In addition to its leadership team and board, TXSE Group Inc is supported by seasoned market and policy experts serving as strategic advisors. Richard Fisher, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, leads the Texas Stock Exchange Listing Standards and Governance Advisory Council, an esteemed group of Wall Street experts. Brett Redfearn, former director of the SEC’s division of trading and markets, brings deep technical and regulatory knowledge to inform the development of TXSE’s ruleset. Securities industry experts Harvey Cloyd and Alex Goor leverage their experience building exchange infrastructures to shape TXSE’s growth. Finally, public affairs expert Bill Lauderback advises TXSE’s relationships with key stakeholders.

For more information about TXSE’s team, please visit https://www.txse.com/meet-the-team. 

TXSE expects to file a registration with the SEC to operate as a national securities exchange in the coming months.

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Leadership team 

‍Jeffrey Brown, General Counsel, TXSE Group Inc and Chief Regulatory Officer, Texas Stock Exchange

Prior to joining TXSE, Jeff served as acting general counsel of Charles Schwab and led its Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs in Washington, D.C. for the past two decades, managing the company’s response to public policy initiatives and advocating for policies that aid individual investors. He has over four decades of securities markets experience, starting his career as an options trader at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, then founding his own trading firm, and later serving on the exchange’s Board of Governors. He also served as senior counsel in the Division of Market Regulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeff’s additional experience in the securities industry includes serving as vice president for regulation and general counsel at the Cincinnati Stock Exchange and as chairman of the Operating Committee of the National Market System Plan governing Nasdaq securities. Jeff holds degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Ohio Northern School of Law.

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Alex Bussandri, Director

Alex is the global head of strategy at Citadel Securities, a leading market maker. Prior to this, he was a director in Bain Capital’s special situations fund, based in London. He was previously a partner at McKinsey & Company in the firm’s private equity and financial services practices. He began his career as an FX and rates trader. Alex holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University.

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Nicole Chambers, Global Managing Director of Listings, Texas Stock Exchange

Nicole brings nearly 17 years of extensive experience collaborating with public and private companies across the United States. Previously, she served as senior managing director, listings at Nasdaq. In that capacity, Nicole played a pivotal role in driving the growth and development of Nasdaq’s listings and services, forging strategic partnerships throughout every stage of the capital markets lifecycle. Nicole is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.

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Harvey Cloyd, Strategic Advisor

Harvey is a securities industry veteran who has served as a pioneer in high frequency clearance and settlement, digital asset custody, and risk management. Previously, Harvey was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Transaction Clearing (ETC) and its affiliate companies. ETC was a preeminent U.S. brokerage and clearing firm that provided clearing and settlement services to introducing brokers, ATSs, and high volume proprietary trading firms. On average, ETC routinely cleared the equivalent of 6 percent of U.S. equity daily share volume and was the first U.S. broker-dealer to custody digital securities and cryptocurrencies. ETC was acquired by Peak 6 in 2019. During his tenure at ETC, Harvey co-founded Keystone Capital, an institutional brokerage firm that was acquired by Coinbase in 2018. Before ETC, Harvey served as vice president and business development manager for Wedbush Morgan Securities and founded Harvey Cloyd & Co., the first direct-access institutional floor broker in the U.S. He started his career as a floor broker on the Pacific Stock Exchange for Pershing & Co. Harvey is also the founder of Alive Energy, an energy drink company, serves as an advisor to Sport Source, and is on the board of directors at Crenshaw Christian Center.

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Marc Cunningham, Global Managing Director, Texas Stock Exchange 

Marc is a seasoned financial executive with over 25 years of experience in capital markets, business consulting, investor relations, corporate finance, investment banking, and equity research. Prior to joining TXSE, Marc served as regional head of capital markets, based in Houston, at the New York Stock Exchange. In that capacity, he led all capital market activities across multiple sectors in the central U.S. and advised private companies on IPOs, SPAC business combinations, transfers, and listing planning and execution. He previously served as head of energy and industrial capital markets at NYSE, advising executive teams of some of the highest profile IPOs in the energy and industrial sectors. Before NYSE, Marc led strategic communications for capital markets at FTI Consulting and held finance, business development, and investor relations roles at several energy companies, including Shell, Anadarko Petroleum, and Noble Energy. Earlier in his career, Marc worked in equity research and investment banking at RBC Capital Markets and Lehman Brothers. He holds a BBA in finance from Loyola University New Orleans.

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Adrian Falcone, Head of Technology Operations, Texas Stock Exchange

Adrian has more than 25 years of experience working in the electronic trading space and building real-time operations systems. Previously, Adrian served as senior director, production operations at Interactive Data Corporation (IDC). He also served in several operations development roles at MEMX, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Madison Tyler LLC, Barclays, Nasdaq, Instinet, and Island ECN. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the City College of New York.

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Richard Fisher, Strategic Advisor 

Richard served as the 12th president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2005 to 2015 and was at the forefront of the debate over banking regulation. He began his career in finance at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and founded Fisher Capital Management and a separate funds-management firm, Fisher Ewing Partners. He is also former vice chairman of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Fisher was a dedicated public servant, working as special assistant to the U.S. Treasury Secretary from 1977 to 1979, and then as deputy U.S. trade representative in the late 1990s. He currently serves on the board of Tenet Healthcare and Warner Brothers Discovery and is a senior advisor to Jefferies. Richard graduated with honors in economics from Harvard University, studied Latin American politics at Oxford University, and holds an MBA from Stanford University. His accomplishments have been recognized with awards and honors, including induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2019. 

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Paul Foster, Director

Paul is the founder and chief executive officer of Franklin Mountain Investments LLC, a diversified investment company with interests spanning real estate, energy, private equity, construction, aviation, sports, medical devices, and hospitality. He was founder and chief executive officer of Western Refining, which was a Fortune 200 oil refiner and marketer sold to Andeavor (formerly Tesoro) in 2016. Andeavor is now part of Marathon Petroleum Corp. Currently, Paul is a member of the board of trustees of the Baylor College of Medicine and the board of directors of WestStar Bank, and a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. Previously, he served as chairman of the board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), vice chairman and chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, and as chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO). He is a past director of the El Paso branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. A notable philanthropist, Paul has extensively supported educational and community initiatives, including through major contributions to Baylor University and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Paul is a graduate of Baylor University, where he earned a bachelor of business administration in accounting. 

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Alex Goor, Strategic Advisor

Alex has more than 20 years of experience building electronic financial markets. Previously, Alex was the chief information officer of Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), prior to its sale to ICE/NYSE. At IDC, he created the technical capability to provide real-time pricing for millions of global fixed income securities. Before joining IDC, Alex served as co-president and then co-chief executive officer of Instinet, an institutional agency brokerage servicing the largest global asset managers. He also served as the chief strategy officer of Datek Online Holdings Corporation. He is an advisor to Blue Flame AI, Sporttrade, Upper90 and a director of Voyant Photonics. He was a board member of ACA Compliance Group, GAIN Capital, Insurity, and Dealogic. Alex holds degrees from the Juilliard School of Music and Columbia University.

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Jeff Karcher, Global Managing Director, Texas Stock Exchange

Jeff brings more than three decades of experience in U.S. equity markets and international equity research. Prior to joining TXSE, Jeff spent nine years leading the listings business at the New York Stock Exchange in the southeast. He joined NYSE in 2015 after spending almost 30 years working in the institutional equity business in a variety of business development, research management and product development roles at RBC Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank and Paine Webber. Jeff has his CETF® certification and has been active in the Atlanta regional business community as a member of the board of directors of FinTech Atlanta and NIRI Atlanta Chapter and as a member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he received a BBA in finance.

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Bob Kenny, Senior Software Developer, Texas Stock Exchange

Bob has over three decades of experience in software engineering and data services. Prior to joining TXSE, Bob served as post trade lead developer at Hudson River Trading. In this role, he was the development manager of the firm’s post trade system that managed the storage of all trading data, broker data, and commissions rules. Before joining Hudson River Trading, Bob held leadership roles in software development at Intercontinental Exchange, Nasdaq, Instinet, and Island ECN. Bob holds a BS in computer science and tech writing from Clarkson University and an MS in information networking from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Bill Lauderback, Strategic Advisor 

Bill is a veteran public affairs professional with a deep knowledge of Texas. He served for eight years as executive vice president for public affairs at the Texas Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), where he played a crucial role in shaping and communicating the organization’s public policy and strategic initiatives. He also brings over three decades of corporate affairs experience, holding prominent roles such as senior advisor at Hill+Knowlton Strategies and executive vice president of corporate affairs at Momentum Securities/E*TRADE Financial Corporation, where he played an integral role in transforming the startup into one of the nation’s highest volume electronic trading operations. Earlier, Bill was vice president for governmental affairs of the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. He has also held senior roles in both federal and state government. At the U.S. Department of Energy, he was deputy assistant secretary for gas and petroleum technology, and he served as executive director of the Texas Department of Commerce and as special assistant to the Governor of Texas. Bill earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from the University of Texas.

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James Lee, Chairman, Founder, and CEO, TXSE Group Inc 

Jim has 30 years of experience in U.S. equity markets, alternative investments, and governance of large public retirement systems and endowments. He co-founded trading technology companies that developed early smart order routing technologies and an electronic trading firm that regularly transacted large percentages of U.S. daily equity volume. He started his career in mergers and acquisitions at First Boston and Lehman Brothers. Jim has held several leadership roles in the public sector, including as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Jim was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year in eServices and is the chairman and president of the Houston Symphony Endowment. He holds an MBA and a BBA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and graduated from the London Business School’s finance/hedge funds programmes. Jim also holds multiple FINRA licenses and certifications.

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Tom Long, Director

Tom is a distinguished financial executive who currently serves as co-chief executive officer of Energy Transfer LP, owner and operator of one of the largest and most diversified portfolios of energy assets in North America. He was previously chief financial officer of Energy Transfer and has been a member of its board of directors since April 2019. He brings over three decades of experience in the energy and financial sectors, including as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Regency GP LLC. He also served in several executive positions at Matrix Service Company, DCP Midstream Partners, LP, and Duke Energy Corp. He was appointed by Gov. Abbott to the Texas State University System Board of Regents in May 2023 and has served on the board of directors of Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc since 2022. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of USA Compression Partners, LP and previously was on the board of Sunoco LP. Tom received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lamar University and is a certified public accountant.

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Mark McCombe

Mark is vice chairman at BlackRock, where he oversees key client relationships and strategic initiatives. Mark’s career in international finance spans more than 30 years and nine countries, and his roles have included chief client officer and head of the U.S. and Canada region at BlackRock. Before joining BlackRock, Mark served as chief executive officer of HSBC Global Asset Management in both Hong Kong and London. He was also a non-executive director of Hang Seng Bank Ltd. and chairman of HSBC Global Asset Management (HK) Ltd. Prior to that, he was based in London where he was chief executive of HSBC Global Asset Management. During his career, Mark has served on a number of finance industry bodies including the Risk Management Committee of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the Banking Advisory Committee for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, and as a council member of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), an advisory body established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Mark earned a master’s degree from Aberdeen University and completed the Advanced Management Program at Wharton Business School. He was also recognized in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2006 with an OBE. 

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Honorable Rick Perry, Director

The Honorable Rick Perry is a distinguished American politician known for his extensive public service. He served as the 14th U.S. Energy Secretary from 2017 to 2019, overseeing America’s rise to become the top producer of oil and gas in the world. Prior to this role, Sec. Perry was governor of Texas, holding office from 2000 to 2015, making him the longest-serving governor in Texas history. During his tenure, he championed pro-growth principles that made Texas one of the largest economies in the world and oversaw the relocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in private sector business and thousands of jobs to Texas. He remains active in public policy and advocacy, currently serving as the chair of the Center for Energy & Environment at the America First Policy Institute​. He is also a member of the board of directors of Energy Transfer LP. Before his political career, he served as a C-130 pilot in the U.S. Air Force and attained the rank of captain. Sec. Perry graduated from Texas A&M University. 

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Brett Redfearn, Strategic Advisor 

Brett is the former director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and played a critical role in the agency’s efforts to modernize the National Market System. He has held key roles in finance and market structure throughout his career, serving as global head of market structure at J.P. Morgan, senior vice president at the American Stock Exchange, and senior managing director at Bear Stearns & Co. Brett was also a member of the boards of the BATS Global Markets, BATS Exchange, Chicago Stock Exchange, and BIDS Trading. Most recently, Brett is the founder and chief executive officer of Panorama Financial Markets Advisory, a leading consultancy dedicated to navigating the complexities of financial markets. He is a graduate of Evergreen State College and The New School.

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Rick Roberts, Director

Rick is a former commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serving from 1990 to 1995. Currently, he is a co-founder and principal at RR&G, a regulatory and legislative consulting firm. He previously was a partner at the law firm of Thelen, Reid & Priest in Washington, D.C. Over the years, Rick has advised clients on significant regulatory initiatives and developments. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and earned his JD from the University of Alabama School of Law.

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Jonathan Ross, Lead Architect and Developer, Texas Stock Exchange

Jonathan has over 20 years of experience in the electronic trading industry, with expertise in M&A, change management, and technology modernization. Before joining TXSE, Jonathan was the chief technology officer at KCG Holdings, Inc., where he led the successful technology merger of Getco LLC with Knight Capital, creating one of the largest and most influential fully electronic trading firms. Prior to this, he served as the chief technology officer at Getco LLC, where he spearheaded the firm’s client services expansion both in the U.S. and Europe. His efforts were pivotal in modernizing trading systems and ensuring seamless technology integration during mergers and acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Jonathan served as the chief technology officer at Nasdaq, where he managed the integration of Island ECN’s technology through two M&A cycles. He was named in the top five of Institutional Investor’s Trading Technology 40 from 2013 to 2016 and was listed among the Financial News’ 100 Most Influential People in European Market Structure in 2012 and 2013.

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Cameron Smith, Global Head of Trading and Co-President, Texas Stock Exchange 

Cam is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of trading, regulation, compliance, and innovation. Cam began his career working in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Market Regulation. He then served as a key member of the team at Island ECN — which became part of Nasdaq — where he was general counsel and chief strategy officer. Cam was also general counsel of Instinet, a global agency broker, and chief strategy officer of its subsidiary, INET ATS. He later served as president of Quantlab Financial, a leading global, multi-asset class trading firm. Most recently, Cam was director of special projects and strategic relationships at Inca Digital. He founded the Modern Markets Initiative and was a board member of BATS, CHI-X Global, and the Cincinnati Stock Exchange. Cam holds a law degree from Seattle University.

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Tyson Tuttle, Director

Tyson is founder and chief executive officer of Circuit, an innovative AI startup building the world’s most trusted knowledge network that empowers people, communities, and organizations to focus on what matters most. He currently serves on several prestigious boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering, and Austin Monitor. Prior to Circuit, Tyson was president and chief executive officer of Silicon Labs where he led the company’s transformation from a semiconductor component supplier into a global leader in silicon, software, and solutions for Internet of Things (IoT). He spearheaded five internal startups during his tenure, driving annual revenue beyond $1 billion and earning widespread global recognition. Tyson announced his retirement from the company at the end of 2021 after Silicon Labs completed the sale of the legacy infrastructure and automotive product lines to Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) for $2.75 billion. Previously, Tyson worked at Broadcom and Cirrus Logic. An engineer at heart, Tyson received a BS from Johns Hopkins University and an MS from UCLA, both in electrical engineering, and holds more than 80 patents.

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Rick Yoder, Chief Technology Officer, Texas Stock Exchange

Rick is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience in the financial technology industry. Before joining TXSE, Rick served as director of software development at Intercontinental Exchange Data Services, where he spearheaded major projects that transformed the delivery of reference data and evaluated pricing products, including the introduction of continuous evaluated pricing, providing real-time fixed income evaluated prices to clients. Prior to ICE Data Services, Rick was part of the initial technology team at Virtu Financial, where he was instrumental in building the company’s low-latency high-frequency trading platform. He previously held software development roles at Instinet, Educational Testing Services, Computer Aid, and Mail.com.

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About TXSE Group Inc:

TXSE Group Inc is the parent company of the Texas Stock Exchange. TXSE will focus on enabling U.S. and global companies to access U.S. equity capital markets and aims to provide a venue to list and trade public companies and the growing universe of exchange-traded products. Subject to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TXSE will be a fully electronic, national securities exchange. More information is available at www.txse.com.

Contact info

media@txse.com

ON THE MOVE: Liquidnet Brings In Amanda Lee Volk; Meaghan Dugan Departs from NYSE

By
Anna Lyudvig
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Amanda Lee Volk

Liquidnet, a technology-driven agency execution specialist, has appointed Amanda Lee Volk as Trade Coverage/Execution Consultant for the New York Desk. Volk will focus on providing primary account coverage for Liquidnet ATS Members, which include institutional, hedge, quant, multi-strategy, and index funds. With 18 years of experience from Nomura/Instinet, she brings a wealth of expertise in the ATS block and algo trading space. Her extensive knowledge and proven track record will enhance Liquidnet’s service offerings, supporting the firm’s commitment to delivering best-in-class service, products, and technology.

Meaghan Dugan

Meaghan Dugan has left her role as head of options at NYSE, Global Trading has reported. Dugan has been head of options since August 2022, before which she was a senior director at ICE. With more than two decades of industry experience, she previously spent more than 10 years as a director at Merrill Lynch and as vice president of electronic trading at Morgan Stanley. NYSE declined to comment on the change. Dugan could not be reached for comment.

James Corrigan

GoldenSource, an independent provider of enterprise data management and master data management solutions, has appointed James Corrigan as CEO. Corrigan succeeds John Eley, who steps down from the position after a decade at the helm. Corrigan brings extensive experience in growing global financial technology companies, both public and private equity-backed. Prior to GoldenSource, he served as President of the Beacon Platform from 2022-2023. Prior to that, Corrigan served as Executive Vice President and Managing Director at SimCorp, a global buy-side investment management platform.

Nasdaq has appointed Rachel Racz, as SVP, Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America. Racz brings over 15 years’ experience across every aspect of the capital markets environment with deep expertise in the oil & gas industry. She is a Nasdaq alumna who previously oversaw Nasdaq’s listings franchise in Texas, responsible for client relationships and driving new listings growth. 

Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM) has announced Lyenda Simpson Delp will become Head of the Global Institutional Client Group, effective December 3. Lyenda is an accomplished industry leader with more than 30 years of experience in asset management and the financial industry. She spent the last 15 years at BlackRock where she held a number of client-focused leadership roles and most recently was its head of Financial Institutions Group for the Americas. She was also a member of the Human Capital Committee and Firmwide Operating Risk Controls Committee.

Sucden Financial, a multi-asset execution, clearing and liquidity provider, has appointed Rob Noyce as Head of Exchange-Traded Derivatives. Noyce has spent the past 20 years at major global financial institutions, including UBS, Citigroup, and Barclays Capital, focusing on listed derivatives and electronic execution. Before joining Sucden Financial, he spent over five years as Director of EMEA Electronic Execution Sales for Listed Derivatives at UBS.

Glazer Capital, a global investment firm primarily focused on arbitrage and event-driven investing, with approximately $2 billion in assets under management, has added Ethan Johnson to its investment team. Johnson brings over 16 years’ experience in event driven investing from his most recent position at Ramius.

If you have a new job or promotion to report, let me know at alyudvig@marketsmedia.com

Slow Adoption of a Key Supporting Technology is Hindering the AI revolution

By
SIX
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Roy Kirby, SIX

By Roy Kirby, Head of Core Products, Financial Information, SIX

Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, the media’s obsession with AI has been unrelenting. Almost overnight, a wave of speculation spread through financial markets, with everyone from journalists to fund managers posing lofty questions around its potential impact on the front office.

The consensus by now is that AI will indeed revolutionize stock picking and trading. Analysis suggests AI is already a half-decent stock picker. And a recent study we conducted with Coalition Greenwich, which canvassed the views of 67 global buy and sell-side firms, revealed respondents feel AI applications will offer the most value by generating better investment decisions. But despite the largest asset managers rallying to integrate AI into their strategies, it would be hyperbolic to argue the tech has radically transformed the role of traders and fund managers. The robot revolution has not arrived – at least, not yet.

The obvious question now is what may be hindering the march of the machines? The potentially hefty cost of developing or acquiring the technology is one obvious factor. The industry’s reluctance to rely too heavily on complex new tech is another. But there is a somewhat overlooked aspect of the debate – the need for more universal use of a key bridging technology between software platforms.

Attention to APIs

Application programming interface (API) technology – which acts as a bridge between different software applications, allowing them to share data seamlessly – ultimately represents the portal through which AI can access and analyze a huge variety of market data.

It pays to view API tech as a network of high-speed highways between cities. Just as these highways allow for faster, more efficient movement of goods and people, APIs enable seamless, real-time data flow between systems. This fluid exchange of information is therefore key to allowing AI to access and analyze market data from a wider array of sources.

Given the increasingly complex nature of most modern investment strategies, the ability to glean insights from a wealth of different data sources across a broadening asset class spectrum mustn’t be downplayed. This was also reflected in our research with Coalition Greenwich, which found that most firms now rely on two or three market data providers, with larger players often tapping five or more depending on the complexity of their investment and trading strategies. Simply put, firms won’t be able to fully leverage their shiny new AI tools across diverse market data sets without the proper API infrastructure in place.

Equally important in today’s fast-evolving investment landscape is the ability to access and process real-time data. This is another advantage API technology brings to new AI programmes. APIs support real-time data exchange, which is critical for AI models that require up-to-date information to generate the most accurate insights and predictions. Moreover, as high-speed trading expands and market volatility persists, the need for speed when it comes to data will only intensify.

A new age beckons

The good news for the AI bulls is that a more widespread adoption of API technology among financial institutions could be right around the corner. Revisiting our recent study with Coalition Greenwich, 70% of respondents feel the preferred market data interface will shift towards APIs over the next three to five years.

While less efficient market delivery methods like desktop solutions – which are still extremely common in the industry – will remain in use, FTP, SFTP and other types of file transfer are expected to decline. Inefficiency, added risk and the need for manual interventions associated with this legacy technology are some of the leading drivers behind the decline, but new and convincing reasons to shift to API tech emerge on an almost daily basis.

This could have dramatic implications for the use of large language models in trading and investing. It would support the development of more sophisticated AI-driven investment strategies, allowing for rapid adaptation to shifting market conditions across asset classes and their respective data sources. Indeed, it may beckon in a new era of investing and trading – one characterized by AI-assisted decision-making and seamless API connectivity.

Nasdaq Implements Regional Structure for Listings Franchise

By
Press Release
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Nelson Griggs, Nasdaq
  • Establishes Regional Management Structure to Deepen Client Connectivity
  • Supports the Growth and Development of Local and Regional Economies across Texas, U.S. Southern States and Latin America

Nasdaq announced it has implemented a regional management structure for its Global Listings franchise, designed to deepen client connectivity, enhance focus, and accelerate growth. Across the Americas, Nasdaq’s Listings business will have three key divisions: East Coast region, West Coast region, and Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America region. Nasdaq has also appointed Texas-native and oil & gas industry veteran, Rachel Racz, as SVP, Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America.

The regional operational structure is designed to better leverage Nasdaq’s enterprise-wide capabilities to the benefit of clients at a regional and local level while amplifying Nasdaq’s commitment to drive even greater connectivity with and across its client base, and amplify Nasdaq’s advocacy in support of its clients. The Texas, Southern U.S., and Latin America region currently supports over 480 clients, across every industry, representing a total of $1.9 trillion in market capitalization.

Rachel Racz brings over 15 years’ experience across every aspect of the capital markets environment with deep expertise in the oil & gas industry. Racz is a Nasdaq alumna who previously oversaw Nasdaq’s listings franchise in Texas, responsible for client relationships and driving new listings growth. Racz left Nasdaq in 2019 and has subsequently held senior leadership positions across corporates, investment firms, and industry bodies focused on business development, client engagement, and strategic investor relations.

“Nasdaq’s success has always gone hand in hand with our clients’ success,” said Nelson Griggs, Nasdaq President, Head of Capital Access Platforms Division. “Our new regional structure will allow us to be even more closely connected to our clients which will deepen our role as their trusted partner, fueling their success as they leverage the power of markets to accelerate their growth. In Rachel we have the ideal partner to help bring this vision to life for our clients across Texas, the Southern United States and the Latin America region. A Texan born and raised, Rachel understands our clients and the unique local dynamics like no other – and she will be a powerful advocate for the interests and needs of our clients across the region.”

“I am thrilled to return to Nasdaq and lead the newly established Texas, Southern United States, and Latin America regional franchise,” said Rachel Racz, SVP, Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America at Nasdaq. “Throughout my career I have been passionate about the power of markets to drive economic growth, scale innovation, and help innovators, companies, and leaders achieve their greatest ambitions. As a Texas native, I have had a front row seat to the extraordinary growth of the Texas economy – as well as our neighboring states – and I am honored to help our clients across the region build on this momentum as we drive the next phase of growth.”

Texas is home to more than 200 Nasdaq listed companies which equates to $1.3 trillion in market capitalization. Nasdaq is an integrated part of the Texas and regional economic fabric and a longstanding advocate for the communities that define it. Nasdaq continues to be committed to being a partner to the states in which it operates, leveraging its skills, capabilities, and expertise to help every economy grow and thrive through the power of capital, technology and markets.

Source: Nasdaq

Interest in Active ETFs Grows

By
Press Release
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ETF Exchange traded fund Trading Investment Business finance concept on virtual screen

The variety of available investment strategies and vehicles can prove overwhelming to investors, encouraging them to rely on financial advisors to sift through the myriad options. Asset managers wanting to remain competitive must therefore cater to the preferences and key objectives of these advisors.

As part of our ongoing Advisor Pulse sentiment research series, ISS Market Intelligence explored vehicle preferences among advisors, alongside trends in portfolio construction and direct indexing. In this latest edition of its ISS MI Advisor Pulse Series, 806 advisors were surveyed in July 2024 to understand where sentiment lies across the industry and understand how this differs by Advisor type.

ETFs are the top vehicle choice for intermediaries

ETFs have increasingly become the most preferred vehicle for investment advisors. ISS MI asked advisors if the same strategy were available from one of their top asset managers as an open-end mutual fund, separately managed account (SMA), and an ETF, which would they choose. 60% of advisors stated they would prefer the ETF chassis, up from 53% in 2022. That movement appears to have come primarily at the expense of open-end mutual funds. The percentage of advisors choosing mutual funds first fell from 20% to 15%. Preferences for SMAs have remained consistent over surveyed periods at 27% in August 2022 and 26% in August 2024.

Increasing interest in Active ETFs

While passive ETFs have been the largest driver of the activity, and account for more than 90% of ETF assets, interest in active ETFs has also grown steadily. 58% of advisors stated that they intend to increase their use of active ETFs over the next 12 months, the highest for any vehicle surveyed in the study. Cost advantages have been an overwhelming reason for advisors to select ETFs. When asked for the top three reasons they selected passive ETFs, 85% of advisors selected their low fees and 60% of advisors mentioned their tax efficiency. Advisors referenced similar reasons for choosing active ETFs, with 57% mentioning low fees and 54% referencing tax efficiency.

ETF interest strongest among RIAs

While the increased preference for ETFs has grown consistently in recent years, it is by no means uniform across channels. The chart below breaks out the preferences by advisor type. ETFs are still effectively the top choice across each group, but registered investment advisors (RIAs) displayed an overwhelming preference for them compared to wirehouse and broker-dealer advisors. An astonishing 81% of RIAs stated that ETFs were their top vehicle, whereas only 8% mentioned open-end mutual funds. Wirehouses advisors had the most balanced preferences of any advisors surveyed and were effectively tied between ETFs and SMAs at 45% each. The shift towards ETFs highlights cost pressure across investment strategies but the divide between channels raises the importance of asset managers meeting clients where they are.

ETFs are the preferred vehicle for client dollars across all Advisor Types

Six times each year, ISS Market Intelligence (ISS MI) surveys Advisors across the country to understand the advisor decision making process and their perceptions of firms across the asset management industry. Download a Summary of the latest issue of the Advisor Pulse research series.

By: Alan Hess, Vice President, ISS Market Intelligence

Source: ISS

FLASH FRIDAY: Meet Julie Andress, Incoming STA Chair

By
Editorial Staff
-

FLASH FRIDAY is a weekly content series looking at the past, present and future of capital markets trading and technology. FLASH FRIDAY is sponsored by Instinet, a Nomura company.

Traders Magazine was pleased to attend the Security Traders Association’s 91st annual Market Structure Conference, which was held in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, September 18 through Friday, September 20.

As per usual, the Chairman’s dinner on Thursday night featured the current STA Chair (Jim Hyde of Intercontinental Exchange) introducing the incoming Chair, and also recognizing the numerous other former STA Chairs in the audience.

We met with the incoming STA Chair, Julie Andress of KeyBanc Capital Markets, on the sidelines of the conference to learn more.

Tell us a bit about your career to date and your current role/responsibilities at KeyBanc Capital Markets?

Julie Andress, KeyBanc Capital Markets
Julie Andress

I started my career in 2007 at Bloomberg in New York, where I served as an account manager, focusing on equities and technical analysis. During my time there, I covered the KeyBanc Capital Markets (KBCM) trading desk, for about four and a half years. In 2011, I had the opportunity to return to my hometown of Cleveland and join KBCM trading desk as a sales trader, a role I have been in for the last 13 years.   

Specifically, I’m responsible for best execution for institutional clients. I have always strived to stay ahead of the curve and to approach each challenge with a solutions-oriented mindset.

When and why did you get involved with STA? 

After a conversation with Jim Toes at my first OSTA event in 2014, I knew there was an opportunity to serve my financial markets community as well as the local community. Jim encouraged me to get involved, and I did. I ended up getting elected to the OSTA board. During this time, I took charge of the Women’s initiative for the affiliate and planned a highly successful event in Cincinnati to benefit Dress for Success. We had a great team and built relationships with other members. And as a result, I was elected to the STA Women in Finance Committee on a national level.

Subsequently, I held a Governor’s role for three years and then was elected to the Executive Board, having served as Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice Chair currently. I am honored to accept the position of Chair of the STA in 2025.

Broadly speaking, what do you see as STA’s role in the industry? 

At a high level, I think it’s twofold. 

The first is networking, mainly for affiliates, and as we’re seeing today in Orlando, providing information, panels and updates on market structure. 

The second is serving a purpose in Washington, DC, with advocacy, education, and lobbying on behalf of our industry. It’s about just being a voice for the industry. 

What was your reaction to being named STA chair, and what are your goals? What’s your vision for next year?

I’m very excited. With a decade of STA experience under my belt, as well as a terrific team and board, I think we can get a lot done. 

Specifically, I hope to focus on the inclusivity of the group in general, both ensuring that we’re broadening and including different affiliates, and then also focusing on our younger members. We’ve worked over the few years to increase our junior membership. Chicago and New York have young professionals groups within their affiliates, and I would like to expand that across all affiliates. We’re going to need the next generation of STA members and leaders for the future success of our organization, so it’s important to get them involved. 

And then because of COVID and how work from home has shifted people around, membership has moved around in different areas. Ohio no longer has the critical mass to have an affiliate, but I want to reach out to different areas and groups to see how we can rebrand some of the current affiliates. For example, maybe we relaunch Ohio as a Great Lakes region and include Detroit, Rochester, and Pittsburgh, which used to have an affiliate. 

So, I want to evaluate the opportunities and challenges for our various affiliates, as well as where we can expand involvement for our members. 

What’s your take on the buy-side participation STA? Is there enough buy side involved, or would you like to expand their presence?

Buy side is very strong in certain areas, such as the Mid-Atlantic STA. MASTA has a huge buy-side presence, and their involvement and support help make their business and networking events very successful. If we can show other buy-sides and other regions the success that MASTA has had, we can increase buy-side involvement in other regions too.

What should we know about you personally? What makes you tick?

Well, I found out that I’ll be the 92nd STA chair and the sixth female chair, which I’m immensely proud of. And we’re also going to be the first female-dominated STA executive board – the vice chair is male, but the other members are women. So that’s another nice stride forward.

Beyond that, I have a four-year-old son and a one-year-old son, and I’m trying to balance it all, but I’m doing it with the support of a lot of family. I have a wonderful supportive husband. And of course, the team at KeyBanc really works well together and helps me to be able to do all these things.

I’ve built my career on relationships. This is still a relationship business, and I have great relationships and partnerships, both internally and with clients. That aspect of the business always brought me back to STA and the appeal of STA and just continuing to expand my network and build relationships.

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