MarketAxess Announces Monthly Volume Statistics for October 2023

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, today announced monthly trading volume and preliminary variable transaction fees per million (“FPM”) for October 2023.¹

Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, commented:

“We delivered solid growth in U.S. high-grade, Eurobonds and municipal bond ADV in October compared to the prior year, and estimated market volumes registered strong increases versus September 2023, reflecting an improving market backdrop. We benefited from an increase in credit spread volatility and ETF market maker activity, which drove improvement in U.S. high-yield ADV and estimated market share compared to September. The adoption of MarketAxess X-Pro continues to expand, with 35% of portfolio trading volume executed over the platform in October, up from 18% in third quarter 2023. We believe that X-Pro and our unique proprietary data are enhancing the client experience for portfolio trading, and we are well positioned to increase our market share in the coming quarters, as we continue to roll-out enhanced functionality.”

Select October 2023 highlights*

• Total credit average daily trading volume (“ADV”) of $12.7 billion, up 1.8% versus the prior year, and up 7.6% versus September 2023 levels.
  
  
  
  
• U.S. high-grade ADV of $6.0 billion, up 7.8% from the prior year, and up 11.1% versus September 2023. Estimated market share of 20.3%, up from 19.8% in the prior year, and up from 19.5% in September 2023. U.S. high-grade estimated market ADV increased 4.9%, compared to the prior year, and was up 6.6% versus September 2023.
  
  
  
  
• U.S. high-yield ADV of $1.6 billion, down 19.0% compared to the prior year, but up 22.4% from September 2023 levels. Estimated market share of 16.7%, down from 21.0% in the prior year, but up from 15.4% in September 2023. U.S. high-yield estimated market ADV increased 1.7% versus the prior year, and increased 12.7% compared to September 2023. The decrease in U.S. high-yield ADV and estimated market share year-over-year was driven principally by lower levels of credit spread volatility, resulting in a decrease in ETF market maker activity.
  
  
  
  
• Emerging markets ADV of $2.8 billion, up 0.3% from the prior year, consisting of a 16.0% increase in local markets trading ADV, mostly offset by a 5.7% decline in hard currency trading ADV; 0.3% increase in emerging markets estimated market ADV compared to the prior year, and a 6.7% increase compared to September 2023.²
  
  
  
  
• 7.4% increase in Eurobonds ADV to $1.7 billion. Eurobonds estimated market ADV increased 22.8%.³
  
  
  
  
• Municipal bond ADV of $532 million, up 10.9% from the prior year, and up 24.6% from September 2023. The year-over-year increase includes a 17.3% increase in non-taxable municipal bond ADV. Estimated market share of 5.1%, up from 4.4% in the prior year; estimated market ADV down 5.8%, compared to the prior year, but up 43.3% compared to September.
  
  
  
  
• Record $15.1 billion in total portfolio trading volume, up 15.9% from October 2022, and up 45.9% from September 2023. Approximately 35% of portfolio trading volume was executed over MarketAxess X-Pro, our new trading platform, in October 2023 compared to approximately 18% in the 3Q23.
  
  
  
  
• 35% Open Trading® share⁴ of total credit trading volume, down from 37% in the prior year, but up from 33% in September 2023.
  
  
  
  
• The preliminary FPM¹ for total credit for October 2023 was approximately $153, compared to $155 in 3Q23 and $164 in October 2022. The decline in total credit FPM in October compared to the prior year was due principally to a change in the mix of credit products traded, specifically a decline in U.S. high-yield trading volume, which is the highest FPM product, and the lower duration of bonds traded in U.S. high-grade. The preliminary FPM for total rates was $4.47, compared to $4.14 in the prior year.

Table 1: October 2023 trading ADV

Table 1A: October 2023 estimated market share

Table 1B: Rolling 6-month trading ADV (period ending October 31, 2023, compared to period ending October 31, 2022)

Table 1C: Rolling 6-month estimated market share (period ending October 31, 2023, compared to period ending October 31, 2022)

Reported MarketAxess volume in all product categories includes only fully electronic trading volume. MarketAxess trading volumes, TRACE reported volumes and MarketAxess Post-Trade processed volumes are available on the Company’s website at investor.marketaxess.com/volume.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the outlook and prospects for Company, market conditions and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company’s future financial and operating performance. These and other statements that relate to future results and events are based on MarketAxess’ current expectations. The Company’s actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including: global economic, political and market factors; risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possible effects of the economic conditions worldwide resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; adverse effects as a result of climate change or other ESG risks that could affect our reputation; the level of trading volume transacted on the MarketAxess platform; the rapidly evolving nature of the electronic financial services industry; the level and intensity of competition in the fixed-income electronic trading industry and the pricing pressures that may result; reputational or credibility risks related to our data products and index business; the variability of our growth rate; our ability to introduce new fee plans and our clients’ response; our ability to attract clients or adapt our technology and marketing strategy to new markets; risks related to our growing international operations; our dependence on our broker-dealer clients; the loss of any of our significant institutional investor clients; our exposure to risks resulting from non-performance by counterparties to transactions executed between our clients in which we act as an intermediary in matched principal trades; risks related to self-clearing; risks related to sanctions levied against states or individuals that could expose us to operational or regulatory risks; the effect of rapid market or technological changes on us and the users of our technology; our dependence on third-party suppliers for key products and services; our ability to successfully maintain the integrity of our trading platform and our response to system failures, capacity constraints and business interruptions; the occurrence of design defects, errors, failures or delays with our platforms; our vulnerability to malicious cyber-attacks and attempted data security breaches; our actual or perceived failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights or technology and defend against intellectual property infringement or other claims; our ability to enter into strategic alliances and to acquire other businesses and successfully integrate them with our business; our dependence on our management team and our ability to attract and retain talent; limitations on our flexibility because we operate in a highly regulated industry; the increasing government regulation of us and our clients; risks related to the divergence of U.K. and European Union legal and regulatory requirements following the U.K.’s exit from the European Union; our exposure to costs and penalties related to our extensive regulation; our risks of litigation and securities laws liability; our future capital needs and our ability to obtain capital when needed; limitations on our operating flexibility contained in our credit agreement; and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about these and other factors affecting MarketAxess’ business and prospects is contained in MarketAxess’ periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be accessed at www.marketaxess.com.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform that delivers greater trading efficiency, a diversified pool of liquidity and significant cost savings to institutional investors and broker-dealers across the global fixed-income markets. Over 2,000 firms leverage MarketAxess’ patented technology to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading® marketplace is widely regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets. Founded in 2000, MarketAxess connects a robust network of market participants through an advanced full trading lifecycle solution that includes automated trading solutions, intelligent data and index products and a range of post-trade services. Learn more at www.marketaxess.com and on Twitter @MarketAxess.

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