KopenTech announces anonymous All-to-All trading for CLOs
LOS ANGELES (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – KopenTech Capital Markets, LLC (“KCM”), the first online provider of electronic trading for structured products, has launched a new All-to-All trading protocol for CLO securities and successfully completed its first two client trades.
All-to-All trading protocol refers to a trading model where all market participants, including dealers and buy-side firms, can anonymously trade with each other. This innovative approach is a game-changer, enabling a more inclusive and efficient trading environment with greater access to liquidity and more trading opportunities through a larger pool of potential CLO counterparties. In other fixed income products, the all-to-all trading protocol has helped to narrow bid-ask spreads.
“The response from buy-side firms and dealers has been exciting as they embrace this evolution in trading CLOs,” said Anthony Schexnayder, CEO of KopenTech Capital Markets. “Now that we have shown that the All-to-All trading protocol is viable and benefits all participants, our focus is to expand it market-wide.”
In the new All-to-All trading protocol, each participant is assigned an anonymous identifier. Market participants can submit BWIC lists, which are then matched with counterparty bids. KopenTech aggregates all orders, displays them on a single screen, and prioritizes them based on their price and time of submission. The BWIC seller has a right to trade to the best bid or DNT.
Similar to KopenTech’s DirectBidding protocol, there are single-round and multi-round trading templates to accommodate a seller’s preference, including LiveBidding, Top-X, Jump Ball and Best Foot Forward. When the BWIC seller accepts the best bid, the platform automatically allocates trades to the respective parties and sends confirmations to all participants.
“Our agile development and latest tech stack enable us to rapidly launch a wide array of products for CLO investors and create customizable trading protocols,” said Anna Gryb, Head of Product at KopenTech. “The introduction of the new All-To-All trading, alongside other recent releases like the Issuance Monitor and dealer inventory, marks significant enhancements to our platform. KopenTech continues to drive the electronification of the CLO market, providing top-tier functionality to both buy-side investors and sell-side banks. The CLO market stands to benefit from more efficient trading, cost savings, and enhanced privacy.”
