Tradeweb Introduces Portfolio Trading for European Government Bonds

Tradeweb Markets Inc. has launched electronic portfolio trading for European government bonds, making it the first institutional marketplace to offer this service across both credit and government bond markets. The new functionality includes UK Gilts, euro-denominated bonds, and single-currency European notes.

Tradeweb first introduced electronic portfolio trading for corporate bonds in 2019. The company reported $698 billion in notional volume across 9,134 portfolio trades globally in 2023. The new service allows institutional clients to trade baskets of government bonds electronically, supporting more efficient execution and improved price discovery.

The platform enables clients to group various bonds into a single portfolio, negotiate pricing with one or more liquidity providers, and execute the entire basket in one transaction. Tradeweb’s system allows for the inclusion of bonds with different liquidity profiles, offering flexibility in strategy implementation while limiting operational risk. The approach also reduces information leakage and slippage, with tools to track execution costs at the portfolio level.

“We are uniquely positioned to develop solutions across asset classes”

James Dale, Co-Head of International Developed Markets at Tradeweb, commented, “The expansion of our portfolio trading functionality to the European Government Bond market is a significant milestone in increasing flexibility and efficiency for our institutional clients, and reflects Tradeweb’s track record of relentless innovation.” He added, “As a truly global multi-asset platform, we are uniquely positioned to develop solutions across asset classes, and remain steadfast in our commitment to responding to the evolving needs of the market.”

Nicola Danese, Co-Head of International Developed Markets at Tradeweb, commented, “As institutional clients continue to embrace the benefits of portfolio trading, there is huge potential for its use cases to expand beyond cash credit and across the fixed income spectrum.” He said, “Traders have already transcended market silos, and portfolio trading perfectly exemplifies how technology can help to further break down barriers and harmonize execution workflows.”

The first transaction was executed between L&G and Citi, with Citi acting as the liquidity provider.

Kelly Moohan, Fixed Income Trader – Rates, Asset Management at L&G, commented, “Our experienced high touch traders continue to work closely with our E-Trading team in order to innovate and drive efficiency with solutions, such as portfolio trading.” She said, “The ability to execute a basket of European Government Bonds as a single package further enhances our capabilities on this front. We continue to drive and support new technological developments that help our clients rebalance portfolios and tailor risk transfers better, faster, and in different market environments.”

Todd Coletto, Head of Rates Business Development for UK & Europe at Citi, commented, “We are excited to be the first dealer to support the launch of portfolio trading for European Government bonds.” He added, “The expansion of the functionality from Credit to Rates bonds is an exciting development for the dealer community, as it allows us to provide our government bond clients with competitive and transparent pricing for instruments of varying liquidity profiles.”

Tradeweb recorded an average daily volume of $212.6 billion on its European Government Bond marketplace in 2024, a 45.6% increase from the previous year. The platform connects institutional investors with 47 liquidity providers and supports bond trading across more than 20 European countries in seven currencies: EUR, GBP, DKK, SEK, NOK, CHF, and HUF.

Alongside the new portfolio trading functionality, Tradeweb continues to offer RFQ (Request-for-Quote), RFM (Request-for-Market), and CTT (Click-to-Trade) protocols. The company was the first to introduce RFQ for U.S. Treasuries in 1998 and continues to expand its tools across global fixed income markets.