Waters Rankings 2017: Best Sell-Side Order Management System (OMS) Provider—Bloomberg

Despite a recent uptick in traction for integrated order and execution management systems (OEMS), Bloomberg always appears to have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the Bloomberg Terminal, a ubiquitous part of the trading desk. TOMS reference data uses the same security-level data from Bloomberg’s global data services, of particular importance to the vast majority of market participants that are currently preparing for the introduction of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II), covering Mifid II-specific data fields, including liquidity, size specific to instrument (SSTI) levels, large-in scale (LIS), and other security-specific waivers. 

The platform has also been granted approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK 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 country.

The fixed-income space has become saturated with electronic trading solutions and platforms in recent years, as the market heads further down the path of electronification, and Bloomberg’s integration of its trading systems is one of its key strengths. Robert Friend, Bloomberg global head of sell-side solutions and research says the firm has been working toward expanding the integration and scope of TOMS.

“We have invested heavily in enhancing our platform to support more complex electronic market-making workflows,” Friend explains. “Our multi-asset pricing and quoting engine is capable of generating real-time quotes from various pricing methodologies and sources, and it is coupled with a robust safeguard and alerting system that automatically monitors market conditions and adjusts external quotes based on trader-defined models and constraints. We are also looking to extend the capabilities of TOMS into our customers’ risk workflows, so that it can provide a window into their vital trading activities.”