McLagan has announced the results of its 2011 annual Z/Yen surveys into Operational Performance.
McLagan asked 178 leading Investment Managers, Private Banks and Hedge Funds to rank the leading brokers on their 2011 Operational Performance and Client Service offerings across Equities, Fixed Income and OTC Derivatives.
The results show that the buy-side is broadly satisfied with Broker performance post-execution trade processing. However, as asset management firms continue to focus on operational risk, they are placing greater emphasis on exceptions and failed-trade management. Additionally, firms are increasingly demanding properly-targeted client-facing operations staff that are communicative, knowledgeable, pro-active and who will work as business partners.
In Europe, the results were as follows:
Liquidnet - Best 2011 Broker for Equities Operations
UBS - Best 2011 Broker for Fixed Income Operations
RBS - Most Improved Broker
In the US:
Liquidnet - Best 2011 Broker for Equities Operations
Barclays Capital - Best 2011 Broker for Fixed Income Operations
Deutsche Bank - Most Improved Broker
In Asia Pacific:
UBS - Best 2011 Broker for Equities Operations
UBS - Best 2011 Broker for Fixed Income Operations
Citi - Most Improved Broker
For Global OTC Derivatives:
Goldman Sachs - Best 2010 Broker for Core Processing
Deutsche Bank - Best 2010 Broker for Client Management
Credit Suisse - Most Improved Broker
Commenting on the results, Simon Haggerty, Global Client Service Head at UBS said, "UBS has a clear goal of being the choice of clients worldwide. To underscore our commitment to servicing our clients, we measure client satisfaction as a key performance indicator, both in Operations as well as within our business areas. The annual McLagan reports provide us with an independent benchmark to help track our progress in operational performance, and provide valuable analysis on how the leading brokers compare to one another in the Operations, or post trade, space. The quality and breadth of the buy side firms involved provides a credible and quantitative representation of the "voice of the client". We were particularly delighted to score 1st in APAC for both Equities and FI Securities Surveys. UBS Operations will be working hard to ensure we make UBS even more attractive to clients in 2012"
Michael Cetrangola, Head of Member Services at Liquidnet commented "We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the buy-side community, which confirms that we have built a best in class operations and technology support team. With a single-minded focus on building the most efficient global institutional trading network, we provide customer support and innovative products and solutions that meet the distinct need of the world's leading asset management firms."
A key factor of the survey results this year was once again the increase in usage of technology by the buy-side, particularly implementation of OMGEO CTM for both Equities and Fixed Income and MarkIt and DS Match technology for OTC Derivatives. This has contributed to a rise in Straight Through Processing (STP), but has also increased Client expectations with regard to Confirmation and Settlement Performance.