Expenditure on trading technology by UK firms will rise just four per cent to £3.4 billion in 2008, compared to an estimated 10% increase in 2007, according to the annual dealing room survey from Kimsey Consulting.
The survey of UK firms - which have a total of almost 14,000 trading positions, approximately one third of the UK total - shows a mixed outlook for 2008, with just under half of companies uncertain as to staffing levels in the coming year - both on and off the trading floor.
Key drivers in 2007 were growth in trading volumes and an increasing number of trading positions, with more than half of firms surveyed reporting an average rise of 10%.
But Kimsey says IT spending by larger trading operations in 2008 is forecast to be flat.
However smaller trading operations - those with less than 100 trading positions - are expected to continue investment in 2008, particularly in dealing and support applications, which now account for more than a third of technology spend.