Q&A with Naomi Depina (pictured), ETF Sales Trader at GTS Execution Services
Q: Tell me a little about your firm
- Founded in 2006 and is now one of the most active electronic market making firms
- US-based firm headquartered in New York, with offices across the US and Europe
- Best-in-class technologies that democratise markets, increase liquidity and lower transaction costs for investors
- Seasoned trading desks in Equities, ETFs, Fixed Income, Options, Futures, and FX
- GTS is the largest Designated Market Maker at the New York Stock Exchange representing USD13 trillion in market capitalisation
- Pioneer ETF trading team averaging 22 years in experience
Q: Why do you think that your firm won this award?
- GTS won Best Market Maker/AP of Equity ETFs because of the following:
- Because of our willingness to nurture new products from launch to maturity, in terms of rising AUM trading volume and advisor interest
- GTS’ desk has a significant bench of equity traders averaging 15 plus years of ETF Trading
Q: What challenges has your firm faced during lockdown?
- Surprisingly transition to a virtual environment during the lockdown wasn’t too bad because our team was well equipped with constant video chat via Microsoft teams and our overall technology.
- As a team the most difficult part was not being able to see clients face to face. Although we were able to connect virtually, meeting new or prospective clients was challenging.
Q: What trends are you seeing in your offering in the ETF space over the past year?
- We are seeing plenty of new ETF launch/LMM requests that are nontraditional entrances into the space, specifically asset managers who are launching an ETF for the first time. This includes mutual fund conversions and in-kind transfers of existing accounts with AUM.
- Many of the ETF launches we are seeing tend to be more thematic ETFs. Examples- social justice ETFs, SPACs ETFs, etc.
Q: What innovation have you brought to your offering in the ETF space over the past year?
- Dynamic market making
- Ability to make a market in cryptocurrency
- GTS has recently added this to our business to be a liquidity provider in crypto
- GTS is a technology leader, so we have been able to quickly adopt and be active in new product and more nuanced product than our competitors. For example, we get many calls on SPAC ETFs as well as semi-transparent ETFs
Q: Looking forward, what future trends and challenges do you see?
- A challenge is shelf space and capturing interest of the retail market due to recent ETF saturation
- Lack of adviser interest and recognition in new product due to the 3,000 choices of ETF selection – limited band width of
- adviser attention.
Best Market Maker/Authorised Participant – Equity ETFs
