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Forbes
07-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Generative AI Is Booming, But Execution Gaps Remain
Gregorio Patiño Zabala, Co-Founder & Head of Business Development - FSI unit at Pragma. The explosive rise of generative AI (GenAI) is fueled by breakthroughs in cloud computing, smarter algorithms and scalable data storage—making the technology both innovative and accessible for businesses. Yet many organizations overlook key technical hurdles that limit their ability to fully harness GenAI's potential. Here are five proven ways to avoid common mistakes and maximize the value of this transformative trend. 1. Identify And Prioritize A Use Case The first step in any GenAI strategy is to identify a well-defined, high-impact business problem that the technology can address. Start by studying relevant pain points that could be solved through automation or advanced data processing. From experience, I recommend holding discovery sessions to align stakeholder needs with feasible technology solutions. Once potential use cases are identified, prioritize them using two main criteria: business value and implementation feasibility. Remember: Not every challenge needs GenAI. In some cases, traditional machine learning or other analytics techniques may be more effective and cost-efficient. 2. Prepare Your Data And Assess Project Feasibility GenAI is only as strong as the data it's built on. Without a solid, evolving knowledge base, any initiative risks producing vague or inaccurate outcomes. Building a dynamic data infrastructure that grows with your business is essential. One example: In a project we led for the insurance division of a financial group in the Dominican Republic, we helped create a conversational AI agent backed by a secure, up-to-date knowledge base. Given the constantly changing nature of insurance offerings, this empowered advisors to deliver real-time, accurate responses. How? By querying data, extracting customer insights, generating personalized documents and ensuring strong data governance. Today, the solution supports more than a dozen core functions for the business. 3. Embrace An Iterative Approach Implementing GenAI isn't a one-time deployment—it's a continuous process. Start with a focused pilot, adjust based on real-world feedback and scale gradually. This approach ensures reduced risk while staying aligned with business needs. In the earlier-mentioned example, what began as a proof of concept evolved into a full solution with eight core features—from real-time data queries to pricing assistants. Each function was added incrementally based on value and feasibility. The takeaway? Start small, iterate fast and scale wisely. 4. Build A Multidisciplinary Team For Scale And Security To build a scalable, secure GenAI solution, companies must assemble a multidisciplinary team with each function contributing to success: • Backend and frontend developers who ensure technical integrity and user experience • QA engineers who test for reliability and performance • Solution architects who align the system with business goals • Data analysts who refine information and boost model accuracy To reduce risk, begin by following security standards like the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top 10 for large language model applications. While many tools exist to streamline implementation, success comes from combining technical skill, domain knowledge and governance. 5. Adopt New GenAI Advances With Intention GenAI is still an emerging technology and continues to evolve quickly. Vendors regularly announce breakthroughs, making it hard to keep up. That's why it's essential to research, evaluate and test each advancement carefully. Organizations can adopt generative AI advances more effectively if they follow these steps: • Establish a dedicated interdisciplinary team to evaluate new tools. • Assess how each advancement aligns with business goals. • Integrate human insight throughout the development process. The goal is not to chase novelty but to adopt what creates real value—at the right time. Bonus: Preparing For The Next Frontier—MCP And A2A The next leap in GenAI lies in agent-to-agent (A2A) communication. Instead of standalone tools, AI systems are beginning to talk to each other, coordinate tasks and make shared decisions. Imagine this: A virtual assistant helping with a customer return automatically checks inventory and schedules a pickup—all handled through intelligent collaboration between two AI agents. Making this possible are new standards like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allow data systems and AI tools to operate together seamlessly. The real opportunity lies in building secure, flexible solutions ready to grow and evolve with your business. When your systems can talk to each other intelligently, that's when AI becomes a true partner—not just another tool. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MarketAxess Announces Trading Volume Statistics for February 2025
NEW YORK, March 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, today announced trading volume and preliminary variable transaction fees per million ("FPM") for February 2025.1 Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess, commented:"While we are not satisfied with our February performance in U.S. credit, we are seeing the benefit of the enhancements we have made to our portfolio trading solution, and the launch of our High Touch block trading solution in Eurobonds and emerging markets. We are also excited about the expected launch of our High Touch block trading solution in the U.S. and our dealer Mid-X protocol on Pragma technology in the second quarter. We believe these new capabilities should help drive higher levels of market share in U.S. credit in the coming quarters. While it is still early in the final month of the quarter, we are encouraged by the recent increase in volatility in the markets and the increase in our U.S. credit trading volumes and estimated market share relative to February 2025 levels." Select February 2025 Highlights Total average daily volume ("ADV") of $43.4 billion increased 27% compared to the prior year, and increased 11% compared to January 2025 levels. Total rates ADV of $27.9 billion increased 46% compared to the prior year, and increased 14% compared to January 2025. Total credit ADV of $15.5 billion increased 2% compared to the prior year, and increased 7% compared to January 2025. U.S. Credit2 U.S. high-grade ADV of $7.1 billion decreased 8% compared to the prior year, but increased 2% compared to January 2025. Estimated market ADV increased 5% compared to the prior year, and increased 6% compared to January 2025. Including the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, estimated market share was 17.8%, down from 19.5% in the prior year, and down slightly from 17.9% in January 2025. Estimated market share, excluding the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, was 17.0%, down from 19.5% in the prior year, and down from 17.7% in January 2025. U.S. high-yield ADV of $1.4 billion was in line with the prior year, but increased 12% compared to January 2025. Estimated market ADV increased 16% compared to the prior year, and increased 21% compared to January 2025. Including the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, estimated market share was 12.1%, down from 12.9% in the prior year, and down slightly from 12.3% in January 2025. Estimated market share, excluding the impact of single-dealer portfolio trades, was 11.1%, down from 12.9% in the prior year, and down from 12.0% in January 2025. Other Credit Record emerging markets ADV of $4.1 billion increased 13% compared to the prior year, and increased 13% compared to January 2025. The year-over-year increase was driven by an 11% increase in local currency ADV, and record levels of hard currency ADV which increased 13%. These results were driven by strong growth in block trading across both hard currency and local currency markets which increased 52% and 28%, respectively, compared to the prior year. Eurobonds ADV of $2.3 billion increased 16% compared to the prior year, and increased 8% compared to January 2025. Municipal bond ADV of $614 million increased 41% compared to the prior year, and increased 15% compared to January 2025. Estimated market ADV increased 40% compared to the prior year, but decreased 2% compared to January 2025. Estimated market share was 6.9%, up slightly from 6.8% in the prior year, and up from 5.8% in January 2025. Strategic Priority Related Protocols & Workflow Tools Client-Initiated Channel Record emerging markets block trading ADV (hard currency blocks defined as trade sizes ≥ $3 million notional, local currency blocks defined as trade sizes ≥ $5 million notional) of $1.7 billion increased 35% from the prior year, and increased 25% from January 2025. Block trading in emerging markets is benefiting from the launch of our targeted block solution in late 2024 which has generated cumulative trading volume of approximately $1 billion since launch. Eurobonds block trading ADV (defined as trade sizes ≥ $5 million notional) of $379 million increased 62% from the prior year, and increased 13% from January 2025. Block trading in Eurobonds is benefiting from the launch of our targeted block solution in January 2025 which has generated cumulative trading volume of over $1 billion since launch. Portfolio Trading Channel $1.5 billion in total portfolio trading ADV, the second highest month recorded, increased 131% compared to the prior year, and increased 66% compared to January 2025. A record 85% of portfolio trading volume was executed over X-Pro.— Estimated U.S. credit TRACE portfolio trading market ADV increased 27% compared to January 2025. Our estimated market share of U.S. credit TRACE portfolio trading was 20.7% in February 2025, up from 14.7% in January 2025.— Portfolio trading represented approximately 11% of U.S. credit TRACE in February 2025, up from 9% in January 2025. Dealer-Initiated Channel Record Dealer RFQ ADV of $1.7 billion across all credit products increased 32% compared to the prior year, and increased 15% compared to January 2025, driven by record Dealer RFQ ADV in U.S. high-grade and emerging markets. Other Open Trading ADV of $4.6 billion increased 5% compared to the prior year, and increased 9% compared to January 2025. Open Trading share3 of total credit trading volume was 36%, up from 34% in the prior year, and up from 34% in January 2025. AxessIQ, the order and execution workflow solution designed for wealth management and private banking clients, achieved ADV of $158 million, up 13% compared to the prior year, and up 9% compared to January 2025. Rates Total rates ADV of $27.9 billion increased 46% compared to the prior year, and increased 14% compared to January 2025. Estimated U.S. government bonds market ADV increased 8% compared to the prior year, and increased 10% compared to January 2025. Estimated U.S. government bonds market share was 2.7%, up from 2.0% in the prior year, and up slightly from 2.6% in January 2025. Variable Transaction Fees Per Million (FPM)1 The preliminary FPM for total credit for February 2025 was approximately $143, down from $152 in the prior year, but up slightly from $141 in January 2025. The decline in total credit FPM year-over-year was due to product and protocol mix. The increase in total credit FPM month-over-month was principally due to the higher duration of bonds traded in U.S. high-grade, driven by an increase in the weighted average years to maturity. The preliminary FPM for total rates for February 2025 was approximately $4.29, up from $4.23 in the prior year, and up from $4.25 in January 2025. The increase in total rates FPM both year-over-year and month-over-month was driven by the impact of product mix within our rates business. Table 1: February 2025 ADV CREDIT RATES $ in millions(unaudited) US/UK Trading Days4 TotalADV TotalCredit High-Grade High-Yield EmergingMarkets Eurobonds Municipal Bonds TotalRates US Agcy./OtherGovt. Bonds Feb-25 19/20 $43,363 $15,493 $7,061 $1,438 $4,105 $2,272 $614 $27,870 $26,901 $969 Jan-25 21/22 $38,926 $14,473 $6,912 $1,284 $3,638 $2,100 $535 $24,453 $23,374 $1,079 Feb-24 20/21 $34,261 $15,176 $7,712 $1,441 $3,626 $1,952 $434 $19,085 $18,613 $472 YoY % Change 27% 2% (8%) – 13% 16% 41% 46% 45% 105% MoM % Change 11% 7% 2% 12% 13% 8% 15% 14% 15% (10%) Table 1A: February 2025 estimated market share CREDIT RATES (unaudited) High-Grade High-Yield High-Grade/High-Yield Combined Municipals US Feb-25 17.0% 11.1% 15.6% 6.9% 2.7% Jan-25 17.7% 12.0% 16.4% 5.8% 2.6% Feb-24 19.5% 12.9% 18.1% 6.8% 2.0% YoY Bps Change (250) bps (180) bps (250) bps +10 bps +70 bps MoM Bps Change (70) bps (90) bps (80) bps +110 bps +10 bps 1 The FPM for total credit and total rates for February 2025 are preliminary and may be revised in subsequent updates and public filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any fee information in future press releases. 2 The Company is currently highlighting the impact of single-dealer portfolio trading volume on U.S. high-grade and U.S. high-yield trading volume and estimated market share, but will continue to exclude single-dealer portfolio trading activity from each product's aggregated trading volume and estimated market share and the total credit FPM calculation. 3 Open Trading share of total credit trading volume is derived by taking total Open Trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered and dividing by total credit trading volume across all credit products where Open Trading is offered. 4 The number of U.S. trading days is based on the SIFMA holiday recommendation calendar and the number of U.K. trading days is based primarily on the U.K. Bank holiday schedule. General Notes Regarding the Data Presented Reported MarketAxess volume in all product categories includes only fully electronic trading volume. MarketAxess trading volumes and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine ("TRACE") reported volumes are available on the Company's website at Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the outlook and prospects for the Company, market conditions and industry growth, as well as statements about the Company's future financial and operating performance. These and other statements that relate to future results and events are based on MarketAxess' current expectations. The Company's actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including: global economic, political and market factors; the level of trading volume transacted on the MarketAxess platform; the rapidly evolving nature of the electronic financial services industry; the level and intensity of competition in the fixed-income electronic trading industry and the pricing pressures that may result; the variability of our growth rate; our ability to introduce new fee plans and our clients' response; our ability to attract clients or adapt our technology and marketing strategy to new markets; risks related to our growing international operations; our dependence on our broker-dealer clients; the loss of any of our significant institutional investor clients; our exposure to risks resulting from non-performance by counterparties to transactions executed between our clients in which we act as an intermediary in matched principal trades; risks related to self-clearing; risks related to sanctions levied against states or individuals that could expose us to operational or regulatory risks; the effect of rapid market or technological changes on us and the users of our technology; issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence; our dependence on third-party suppliers for key products and services; our ability to successfully maintain the integrity of our trading platform and our response to system failures, capacity constraints and business interruptions; the occurrence of design defects, errors, failures or delays with our platforms, products or services; our vulnerability to malicious cyber-attacks and attempted cybersecurity breaches; our actual or perceived failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights or technology and defend against intellectual property infringement or other claims; our use of open-source software; our ability to enter into strategic alliances and to acquire other businesses and successfully integrate them with our business; our dependence on our management team and our ability to attract and retain talent; limitations on our flexibility because we operate in a highly regulated industry; the increasing government regulation of us and our clients; risks related to the divergence of U.K. and European Union legal and regulatory requirements following the U.K.'s exit from the European Union; our exposure to costs and penalties related to our extensive regulation; our risks of litigation and securities laws liability; our tax filing positions; the effects of climate change or other sustainability risks that could affect our operations or reputation; our future capital needs and our ability to obtain capital when needed; limitations on our operating flexibility contained in our credit agreement; our exposure to financial institutions by holding cash in excess of federally insured limits; and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about these and other factors affecting MarketAxess' business and prospects is contained in MarketAxess' periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be accessed at About MarketAxess MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform that delivers greater trading efficiency, a diversified pool of liquidity and significant cost savings to institutional investors and broker-dealers across the global fixed-income markets. Approximately 2,100 firms leverage MarketAxess' patented technology to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. Our automated and algorithmic trading solutions, combined with our integrated and actionable data offerings, help our clients make faster, better-informed decisions on when and how to trade on our platform. MarketAxess' award-winning Open Trading® marketplace is widely regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets. Founded in 2000, MarketAxess connects a robust network of market participants through an advanced full trading lifecycle solution that includes automated trading solutions, intelligent data and index products and a range of post-trade services. Learn more at and on X @MarketAxess. Table 2: Trading Volume Detail Month Ended February 28/29, In millions (unaudited) 2025 2024 % Change Volume ADV Volume ADV Volume ADV Credit High-grade $ 134,161 $ 7,061 $ 154,246 $ 7,712 (13 ) % (8 ) % High-yield 27,320 1,438 28,821 1,441 (5 ) - Emerging markets 78,000 4,105 72,517 3,626 8 13 Eurobonds 45,440 2,272 40,986 1,952 11 16 Other credit 11,718 617 8,912 445 31 39 Total credit trading1 296,639 15,493 305,482 15,176 (3 ) 2 Rates U.S. government bonds2 511,116 26,901 372,261 18,613 37 45 Agency and other government bonds1 19,243 969 9,750 472 97 105 Total rates trading 530,359 27,870 382,011 19,085 39 46 Total trading $ 826,998 $ 43,363 $ 687,493 $ 34,261 20 27 Number of U.S. Trading Days3 19 20 Number of U.K. Trading Days4 20 21 Year-to-Date Ended February 28/29, In millions (unaudited) 2025 2024 % Change Volume ADV Volume ADV Volume ADV Credit High-grade $ 279,313 $ 6,983 $ 311,339 $ 7,594 (10 ) % (8 ) % High-yield 54,278 1,357 58,151 1,418 (7 ) (4 ) Emerging markets 154,402 3,860 150,766 3,677 2 5 Eurobonds 91,647 2,182 83,741 1,947 9 12 Other credit 23,051 576 17,685 431 30 34 Total credit trading1 602,691 14,958 621,682 15,067 (3 ) (1 ) Rates U.S. government bonds2 1,001,968 25,049 716,788 17,483 40 43 Agency and other government bonds1 42,924 1,027 20,266 478 112 115 Total rates trading 1,044,892 26,076 737,054 17,961 42 45 Total trading $ 1,647,583 $ 41,034 $ 1,358,736 $ 33,028 21 24 Number of U.S. Trading Days3 40 41 Number of U.K. Trading Days4 42 43 1 Consistent with FINRA TRACE reporting standards, both sides of trades are included in the Company's reported volumes when the Company executes trades on a matched principal basis between two counterparties. 2 Consistent with industry standards, U.S. government bond trades are single-counted. 3 The number of U.S. trading days is based on the SIFMA holiday recommendation calendar. 4 The number of U.K. trading days is based primarily on the U.K. Bank holiday schedule. View source version on Contacts INVESTOR RELATIONS Stephen Davidson MarketAxess Holdings Inc.+1 212 813 6313sdavidson2@ MEDIA RELATIONS Marisha Mistry MarketAxess Holdings Inc.+1 917 267 1232mmistry@ Sign in to access your portfolio
