Designed with equities in mind, systematic internaliser (SIs) appear to be conquering other asset classes with more of them active in bonds and derivatives, according to Christian Voigt, senior regulatory adviser at Fidessa.
In a recently posted blog, Voigt explained that the change also shows that “SIs are spreading across more asset classes than just equities—there are more of them active in bonds and derivatives”.
He stated that there are “about 109 SIs in varying states of registration in Europe”.
Voigt added that given that there were less than 20 of them before the implementation of the second Markets In Financial Instruments Directive in January, the increase was “considerable”.
Voigt's blog indicated that the UK currently has 44 SIs, followed by Germany which has 14, and France which has nine.
Voigt said: “Across countries there are no real surprises with the usual suspects at the top. But, more interesting, is the distribution across asset classes.”
Of the 109 SIs across Europe, 59 are bonds, 53 are derivatives, 47 are shares, 32 are securities derivatives, 31 are exchange-traded funds and 29 are structured financial products SIs across asset classes.