THE STERN OPPORTUNITY

Fintech firms are actively working to electronify and digitalize fixed-income primary markets

Global fixed-income primary markets continue to develop away from voice-driven communications and manual operational processes to more streamlined interoperable platforms. Firms that once struggled through paper document-driven offerings with no transparency, insights, compliance or regulatory audit trails are now embracing the electronification and digitization offered by firms such as IHS Markit.

Global markets have historically traded fixed income products with a specific set of information and data, allowing for technology firms to standardize and electronify the process; identifying, mapping and modeling the necessary data into digital workflows. Many sectors (investment grade, high yield, emerging markets, structured and securitized) carry unique structures, pricing mechanisms and optional provisions – most of which are specific to each asset class – however, often times this data does remain consistent within each sector and is capable of being identified and tagged for digital standardization.…