Waters Rankings 2016: Best Sell-Side OMS Provider — Bloomberg Trading Solutions

But this year, Bloomberg has regained its crown, making it six wins in seven years for the data giant, thanks to its ever-popular Bloomberg Trade Order Management Solutions (TOMS) offering, which represents the technology's giant's multi-asset order management offering designed specifically for use by sell-side firms. In the wake of unprecedented regulatory mandates emanating primarily from the North American and European marketplaces, the platform has become the chosen option for handling new reporting requirements stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act and the looming Mifid II regime, scheduled to come into force on January 3, 2018.

Proof of Bloomberg’s regulatory prowess came in the fourth quarter of last year, when TOMS became the first third-party vendor solution to be certified by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) for reporting under dealer member Rule 2800c, introduced on October 29. The mandate requires dealer members to report to IIROC the debt securities transactions they execute and their affiliates that are government securities distributors on a post-trade basis.

“It is very much the first step in bringing a little bit more clarity to what goes on,” Sunil Biswas, head of product for Bloomberg TOMS, told Waters when the approval was announced. “It is really driven by the regulators’ desire to implement surveillance.”

Earlier in the year, TOMS was granted approval by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to report securities with an International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, as part of the Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARM) regime within the UK. The platform also assists fixed-income traders to comply with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (Trace) rules. Also falling under the Bloomberg Trading Solutions umbrella is its Sell-Side Execution & Order Management Solutions, which offers sell-side equity trading firms an integrated suite of solutions for idea generation, liquidity management, trade execution, position management, risk and P&L, and compliance. Over 375 sell-side institutions use Bloomberg’s trade reporting services across the globe. 

Earlier this year, Bloomberg was named as the best reporting platform provider at the annual Sell-Side Technology Awards. 

In the wake of unprecedented regulatory mandates emanating primarily from the North American and European marketplaces, the platform has become the chosen option for handling new reporting requirements stemming from the Dodd–Frank Act and the looming Mifid II regime.