Average daily notional volumes (ADNV) in US corporate bonds have been rising steadily since 2022, already hitting US$49.8 billion year-to-date. According to asset managers polled by Coalition Greenwich, that figure is only expected to grow.
Half of high yield (HY) buy-side traders, and 53% of those trading investment grade (IG) credit, expect their trading volumes to increase over the next 12 months Just 4% of IG traders – and no HY traders – expect volumes to decline over that time.
In spite of job-cut fears, as a result of new technologies and crunched budgets, the average number of credit traders per desk has increased year-on-year (YoY). In IG, the average rose from 3.2 to 2.4. In HY, similar growth was seen from 2 to 2.2. However, Coalition Greenwich highlights, this increase is far below the 22% compound annual growth rate of volumes. The reason for the imbalance, it suggests, is the rise of automated trading.
In this recent survey, 91% of HY investors and 95% of IG investors stated that they traded some volume electronically.
Last month, e-trading took 33% of volumes in HY and 49% in HY.
READ MORE: US credit volumes set new record
Portfolio trading is also continuing its steady rise across the buy side, with use up five percentage points YoY. In 2026, 78% of institutions responded that they are using the protocol.
Coalition Greenwich links the use of portfolio trading to the use of credit ETFs. “Why trade a proxy for the portfolio when you can trade the portfolio itself? Nevertheless, ETFs remain an important part of the buy-side corporate bond trader’s toolkit.”
In the latest poll, 34% of IG traders and 43% of HY traders report that they are using ETFs, primarily to maintain exposure to liquid investment.
When it comes to the choice of trading venue in the US, 100% of HY investors stated that MarketAxess was their most important multidealer system for cash bonds. IG investors felt the same way, with 93% prioritising the platform.
Also popular was Tradeweb, with 74% of IG and 68% of HY investors ranking the service highly; HY investors were also keen on Trumid (65%), but IG investors are less likely to take this route (47%).
As of 2025, MarketAxess leads in the HY space with 38.9% market share. Tradeweb is a little ahead in IG, with a 35.6% share.
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