The London Stock Exchange today announces that Gilt-Edged Market Maker (GEMM) Jefferies International Limited has started trading in gilts on its Order book for Retail Bonds (ORB). Jefferies, which joins dedicated market maker Evolution Securities in offering electronic trading in UK gilts, will provide additional liquidity on the order book. Through the ORB, investors can enjoy simple, transparent access to government debt. Trading in the gilts, as with all other bonds available on ORB, does not attract stamp duty.
Pietro Poletto, Head of Fixed Income Markets at London Stock Exchange Group, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Jefferies as a new participant on our electronic bond market. As a GEMM, they bring a unique expertise to the gilt market, and investors now have greater choice available to them when trading gilts through our order book."
Emanuele Caloia, Managing Director at Jefferies International Limited, said:
"By partnering with the London Stock Exchange we have opened up an important distribution outlet for UK Government bonds to the global Jefferies client base. This is further evidence of Jefferies' intention to support innovation in the marketplace and grow its world class fixed income business by providing a new liquidity outlet for both issuers and investors."
Launched on 1 February 2010 in response to strong private investor demand for greater access to fixed income, the new order book now offers access to 50 UK gilts, 24 corporate bonds and two supranational bonds all tradable in easily manageable sizes. As well as UK government debt securities, corporate bonds currently available for trading include securities issued by Lloyds TSB, Provident Financial, Tesco, BT, National Grid, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Vodafone, Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher, Safeway, Morgan Stanley, GE Capital, Enterprise Inns, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wal-Mart.
Over the last year, Jefferies has been designated a Primary Dealer in the US, UK, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands. Most recently, Jefferies was named as a member of the Austrian Federal Financing Agency's Auction Panel, enabling Jefferies to participate in all Austrian Financing Agency offerings. Globally, the firm's broad fixed income effort encompasses more than 400 professionals focused on the sales and trading of investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, government and agency securities, repo finance, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, municipal bonds, whole loans, leveraged loans, distressed securities and emerging market debt.