Capped estimated investment grade (IG) and high yield (HY) portfolio trading volumes were the highest year-to-date in April 2025, representing approximately 10% of total TRACE volumes.
This marks a slight dip from full-year 2024 figures of 11%, however, and a downward tick in the use of portfolio trading in the IG markets.
In IG, capped portfolio trading has continued a decline that began in January 2025. Despite reaching record highs in December 2024, taking 15% of TRACE volumes for the asset class, this figure fell sharply to approximately 10% in January.
Although a slight recovery was seen in March, April results dipped alongside declining trading volumes for the asset class. Reported trades fell from record highs of US$126 billion in March, but remained above monthly averages year-to-date.
By contrast, portfolio trading in the US high yield market continued its steady rise in April to represent 16% of total HY trading volumes.
While overall trading volumes are well below those in the IG market, HY is growing at a more rapid pace – a trend noted by Morgan Stanley in Q4 2024 – and portfolio trading is considerably more well-used in the market.
©Markets Media Europe 2025
