As we enter into this year’s dog days of summer decidedly early, we thought we might as well get a jump start on an activity that is as much a summer tradition as ice cream, sprinklers, ConEd fear mongering and dress code updates (this year’s concern: big eyes). Yes, it's time for TABB Group to begin work on our seventh edition of US Institutional Equity Trading.*

One of the advantages to having a bunch of historical data is the year-over-year comparisons we can draw.  For example, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, we observed that sales trading went up for the first time since 2004.  We have also tracked the steady decline in commission rates, both blended and across specific channels.  Yearly repetition also makes creating questions a bit easier, since there are some standard data sets we know clients are eager to see refreshed.

But just as important as getting the latest data or industry numbers is the opportunity to explore new concerns in the industry and circle back to trends that have recently picked up steam.   Here are examples of some of the new topics we're considering for this year's report: 

Regulations:  In our 2009 report, we examined the nascent regulatory agenda in areas such as sponsored access, flash trading and dark pool restrictions. Clearly we need to revisit this.  Some of the proposals floated to the public more than a year ago have not moved an inch, while a number of new ones have either already been implemented (stock-specific circuit breakers), or were recently proposed rules (large trader reporting, consolidated audit trail).  And we shouldn’t forget the chatter about the trade-at rule, quoting obligations, and cancellation fees.

The Next Generation of Traders:   Over the last few years, we have heard from a number of head traders with 15-20 years of experience, that the younger generation of traders will have little or no concept about some of the more traditional methods of sourcing liquidity. So it might be interesting to probe the generational shift occurring on the desk, and whether it will change attitudes toward market microstructure, electronic trading and the sales desk.

Workflow Automation:  TABB Group has diligently tracked buy-side usage of low-touch trading, but we are hearing that a number of firms are looking to further automate their trade process.  For example, if overnight inflows generate a long list of relatively easy small orders, is there a way to get that off the trading desk more quickly by automatically entering it into a program trading algorithm?  What other areas should we explore in this vein?

Customization:   Related to workflow automation is customization, a concept that has been percolating for years. But beyond tweaking the definition of an “aggressive algorithm” or eliminating some venues from a routing table, what kind of logic and/or integration is the buy side in need of these days?

These are just examples of some of the areas we're thinking of delving into in this year's report.  It would be great to hear what you think we should cover this year.  Post your comments below or email me at asussman@tabbgroup.com.  And if you’re a buy-side firm that would like to participate, let us know so we can add you to our list.

*  For those of you not familiar with this report, we go out and talk with 60+ head traders of US-based long-only money managers about recent trends and short-term forecasts on their trading desks. We then aggregate the data, preserving the anonymity of participants, and give context to industry-wide trends.