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The ongoing turmoil in financial markets is creating a tough time for European trading technologists and connectivity specialists. As MiFID slowly grinds its way through the marketplace, new execution platforms are launching on what feels like a weekly basis. The European marketplace is seeing liquidity fragment – perhaps more slowly than some would have predicted or would like – between established primary exchanges and an array of new execution platforms, including multilateral trading facilities, broker-sponsored dark pools, independent dark pools and combinations of the above.

It’s finally dawning on the European market that to get access to this liquidity requires some smarts. And many are turning to smart order routing (SOR) technologies to provide that smarts. Some market practitioners have drawn upon their experience in the US, where SOR has been a required capability for some time. As ever, though, they’re finding the realities of the European market a tad more complex. Part of this complexity involves the lack of a single currency – and its impact on fungibility – and of a single clearing agency, like the DTCC in the US.

But there are other complexities, too. In this special report, our industry experts look at some of the challenges facing those who seek to deploy SOR technologies in the unfolding European marketplace. Aside from the structural issues unique to Europe, the financial crisis and its impact on trading volumes is adding to the challenge, by raising questions about the credibility of new platforms even before they come to market. With budgets everywhere under intense scrutiny, the decision to connect is no longer the no-brainer it once was.

  Smart Order Routing: The Route to Liquidity Access and Best Execution (1.1 MiB)