Operates an Electronic Trading Platform for credit markets
Sales reached $ 184B in Q2 ’20
Here is an EASY thread
$MKTX MarketAxess was founded in 2000 by Richard McVey
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👤" title="Silhouette einer Büste" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette einer Büste"> It began by trading investment-grade corporate bonds
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📃" title="Seite mit Eselsohr" aria-label="Emoji: Seite mit Eselsohr">
It also provided investors access to new issues and research
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📑" title="Lesezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Lesezeichen">
It also provided investors access to new issues and research
In 2001, it acquired Trading Edge Inc
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🛍" title="Einkaufstaschen" aria-label="Emoji: Einkaufstaschen"> A company that enables investors to buy and sell bonds online
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧾" title="Receipt" aria-label="Emoji: Receipt">
Today, $MKTX operates an online trading platform
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen"> that enables institutional investors
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏢" title="Bürogebäude" aria-label="Emoji: Bürogebäude"> and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📑" title="Lesezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Lesezeichen"> and other fixed-income instruments
Today, $MKTX operates an online trading platform
According to Bloomberg
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗞" title="Eingerollte Zeitung" aria-label="Emoji: Eingerollte Zeitung"> In 2018, it held around 85% of the electronic bond trading market
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌐" title="Weltkugel mit Längengraden" aria-label="Emoji: Weltkugel mit Längengraden">
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> Representing around 20% of all corporate bond trading volume in the USA
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten">
So… The more electronic corporate bond trading
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📟" title="Pager" aria-label="Emoji: Pager"> The better for $MKTX
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rakete" aria-label="Emoji: Rakete">
Yes!
So… The more electronic corporate bond trading
Yes!
Ok
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen"> What is electronic trading in fact
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen">
Let’s look at electronic trading in the stock market
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> Something you should be familiar with
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> You want to buy some $AAPL stock? Well, open your trading app and pass the order
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📱" title="Mobiltelefon" aria-label="Emoji: Mobiltelefon">
Let’s look at electronic trading in the stock market
That’s EASY right? Yes!
The VAST majority of equities trading is done electronically
So right now, electronic bond trading represents just 20 to 30% (depending on the months) of the total trading volumes
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen">
Why is that so
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen"> One main factor can explain this
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
Why is that so
At its peak, there were 8,800 equities listed in the U.S.
How could that reduce the appeal of electronic bond trading
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen">
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen"> There are plenty of bonds so there is a huge market right?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🛑" title="Stop sign" aria-label="Emoji: Stop sign"> Well, this makes the market very fragmented, each bond is therefor NOT OFTEN EXCHANGED
Here are some more facts
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
The average U.S. stock traded around 3,800 times a day on 2012
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📈" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend">
In comparison
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> The 13 most liquid Investment Grade corporate bonds traded on average 85 times a day
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📉" title="Tabelle mit Abwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Abwärtstrend">
The average U.S. stock traded around 3,800 times a day on 2012
In comparison
From
Well, you could say that broker dealer just have to put their bonds
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📃" title="Seite mit Eselsohr" aria-label="Emoji: Seite mit Eselsohr"> for sale on an electronic platform and wait some time
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏳" title="Sanduhr mit fließendem Sand" aria-label="Emoji: Sanduhr mit fließendem Sand">
As in the end, someone will come and make a deal
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen"> since each bond is traded on average 85 times a day
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎭" title="Darstellende Künste" aria-label="Emoji: Darstellende Künste">
As in the end, someone will come and make a deal
Not really
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen"> Let’s say that you are work at a pension fund and have to sell $ 2B worth of bonds
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen">
Of course, you cannot just place your sell-order and WAIT until someone fills
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> It could take days
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📆" title="Abreißkalender" aria-label="Emoji: Abreißkalender">
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☎️" title="Telefon" aria-label="Emoji: Telefon"> You end up picking up the phone and find someone that buys these
Of course, you cannot just place your sell-order and WAIT until someone fills
Greenwich says
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
“The total number of corporate bonds available to trade in the U.S. alone is so large, and most of those bonds so illiquid, that the chances of finding a “natural” other side of a trade at an exact moment in time are slim at best.” https://www.greenwich.com/blog/challenge-trading-corporate-bonds-electronically">https://www.greenwich.com/blog/chal...
“The total number of corporate bonds available to trade in the U.S. alone is so large, and most of those bonds so illiquid, that the chances of finding a “natural” other side of a trade at an exact moment in time are slim at best.” https://www.greenwich.com/blog/challenge-trading-corporate-bonds-electronically">https://www.greenwich.com/blog/chal...
Now, let’s say that you need to buy $ 2B worth of bonds
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen">
What do you do? You tell the whole market that you have $ 2B of cash and want to BUY a certain bond?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> By disclosing this piece of information you would shoot yourself in the foot
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💀" title="Schädel" aria-label="Emoji: Schädel">
What do you do? You tell the whole market that you have $ 2B of cash and want to BUY a certain bond?
But wait… $MKTX is now a $ 20B company
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📈" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend">
And here are the monthly volumes traded on $MKTX
(from https://www.ft.com/content/67e48ae4-4fab-11e8-9471-a083af05aea7)">https://www.ft.com/content/6...
And here are the monthly volumes traded on $MKTX
(from https://www.ft.com/content/67e48ae4-4fab-11e8-9471-a083af05aea7)">https://www.ft.com/content/6...
Why is electronic bond trading taking off?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Before the 2008 crisis, it was relatively easier for banks to buy and sell massive amounts of debt
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⛔️" title="Nicht betreten" aria-label="Emoji: Nicht betreten"> Due to regulations
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👮♂️" title="Man police officer" aria-label="Emoji: Man police officer"> Banks cannot trade as heavily as they want and supply the liquidity the bond market needs
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💸" title="Geld mit Flügeln" aria-label="Emoji: Geld mit Flügeln">
“The feedback that we got from dealers was that they were not quoting on the phone. They couldn’t do that, they couldn’t keep up with that”
from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-bond-trading-insig-idUSKBN23T0MP">https://www.reuters.com/article/u...
from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-bond-trading-insig-idUSKBN23T0MP">https://www.reuters.com/article/u...
You want to read the full take? Here it is
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten"> https://www.ft.com/content/67e48ae4-4fab-11e8-9471-a083af05aea7">https://www.ft.com/content/6...
How does that translate for $MKTX
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📈" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend">
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen"> Over 144K trades completed using automated execution
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Feuer" aria-label="Emoji: Feuer"> Up from 105K in Q2 ’19
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💼" title="Aktenkoffer" aria-label="Emoji: Aktenkoffer"> 83 firms used automated execution functionality in 2Q20
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧗♀️" title="Kletternde Frau" aria-label="Emoji: Kletternde Frau"> Up from 55 in Q2 ’19
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📟" title="Pager" aria-label="Emoji: Pager"> Approximately 3.5 million algo responses in 2Q20
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rakete" aria-label="Emoji: Rakete"> Up 45% from Q2 ’19
The numbers look stunning
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts"> How does it compare to its competitors
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen">
$TW sales stand at $ 212m in Q2 ’20
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📈" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend"> Growing 11% YoY
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤼" title="People wrestling" aria-label="Emoji: People wrestling"> Versus 47% for $MKTX
Its Net Profit Margin stands at 14%
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤼" title="People wrestling" aria-label="Emoji: People wrestling"> Versus 45% for $MKTX
$TW sales stand at $ 212m in Q2 ’20
Its Net Profit Margin stands at 14%
Disclaimer - This is not investment advice in any form and investors are responsible for conducting their own research before investing.
Sources
✑ Investor presentation
✑ Company website
✑ Financial Times
✑ Reuters
✑ Greenwich
✑ McKinsey & Company
✑ WSJ
Sources
✑ Investor presentation
✑ Company website
✑ Financial Times
✑ Reuters
✑ Greenwich
✑ McKinsey & Company
✑ WSJ
Hope you liked this thread!
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