Buy-side traders at FILS Europe have poured cold water on claims of the UK bond tape’s success, with just half using its data.
According to the FCA and consolidated tape (CT) provider Etrading Software, the bond CT has been a resounding success. Contributor coverage is at 100%, the percentage of reported trades has gone from 5% to 75% in corporate bonds and from 49% to 80% in government bonds. But according to an audience poll at FILS Europe, almost half of buy-side traders are not using the data – and see no need to.
During an audience survey, 34% of the buy-side audience stated that they currently do not have the CT data and have no plans to consume it. A speaker sharing this view explained that they do not believe using the tape would improve execution, valuing individual traders’ expertise and experience instead.
However, they suggested that the tape could be useful when making future trading decisions – if the data can be cleaned by a third party before it reaches them.
“The data needs to be able to tell the portfolio manager something that they don’t already know,” another speaker added.
Services to clean tape data, and consolidate UK, EU and US offerings, are being provided by a number of vendors. Ediphy, which will provide the EU tape, launched such a solution in June, and Etrading Software is rolling out a cleansed, trading-ready service through its ETS Connect Plus operation.
READ MORE: Ediphy rolls out consolidated consolidated tape
A further 15% of those polled said that they either see no need for access to the data, or are waiting for vendors to provide it to them. On the latter, one speaker observed that vendors are indeed beginning to offer the data in a way that can be assimilated into trading practices, and emphasised the fact that if the data is not harnessed efficiently its value is minimal.
Of those who do have access to the tape, just 7% of those surveyed stated that they were using it in day-to-day operations. A trader on one panel explained that they have not yet found a way to use the data effectively.
Another trader noted that while the tape may be taking away some of the competitive edge of larger firms who previously had more exclusive access to data, the impact of the tape has been a net positive – allowing smaller firms to offer sharper algos and tightening bid-offer spreads.
In Europe, the bond consolidated tape is yet to come; provider Ediphy expects to go live in January 2027.
READ MORE: Citadel Securities, Deutsche Bank and more back FairCT
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