With an estimated 80 live or proposed electronic fixed-income trading vehicles now vying for investors’ attention worldwide, the launch of one more might understandably prompt a yawn. But BondClick, which started operations last month, is different, insists chief executive Eloi Duverger.
“This isn’t just another e-initiative,” says Duverger, who was head of European government bonds at J.P. Morgan before he joined BondClick last May. “We believe this will mark a fundamental change in how European bonds are traded. We have chosen the most liquid market, government bonds, and we are backed by the biggest broker-dealers.”
BondClick is also distinguished by its target audience. While most other trading systems are aimed at the interdealer market, BondClick wants to serve institutional investors. Instead of having to call several dealers to get their prices, investors will be able to view the firms’ records of recent price quotes on specific bonds. They can also see what bids were rejected.
There’s no debating BondClick’s heavyweight backing. In addition to Duverger’s old firm, now merged with Chase Manhattan, first-round investors included ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Caboto, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank. Barclays Capital joined the consortium in November.
Having developed J.P. Morgan’s proprietary electronic trading system, eXpress, Duverger appreciated BondClick’s multiplatform approach. At Morgan, he recalls, “the clients all said, ‘Great, we love the functionality of dealing online, but we want to see other firms’ prices as well.’” With the new system, they will.
Visits to more than 50 European fund managers confirmed Duverger’s bullish stance on BondClick’s prospects - the large herd of rival online systems notwithstanding.
