E*Trade Deal Highlights Tech-Driven Change Felt in Many Markets
- Fixed income also reshaped by technology demand, report finds
- ‘New and better digital products’ are driving competition
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Morgan Stanley’s $13 billion deal to acquire E*Trade Financial Corp. is driven in part by the bank’s need to meet equity investors’ demands for the latest technology and digital trading tools -- and the same forces are reshaping the fixed-income market.
A report released Thursday by Greenwich Associates found an appetite for “new and better digital products and tools” among fixed-income investors is fueling competition at banks. Kevin McPartland, head of market structure and technology research at Greenwich, said the elimination of trading commissions by many firms including Charles Schwab Corp. has freed investors to choose a brokerage based on services alone.