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The London Stock Exchange today marked the first anniversary of the launch of its Order book for Retail Bonds (ORB). Since February 2010 the ORB, designed specifically for private investors, has seen significant growth in both the number and range of bonds available for trading, as well as an increase in the number of participants offering investors access to the platform.
There are now 142 corporate, government and supranational bonds available for trading on the ORB, up from 59 at launch. There have been 7 new bonds specifically issued for the market, including bonds from Royal Bank of Scotland, Provident Financial, and Lloyds TSB. The range of corporate bonds available now includes index-linked, inflation-multiplier, step-up and callable debt securities.
Pietro Poletto, Head of Fixed Income at London Stock Exchange Group, said:
"The first year for the ORB has been a great success, and a key part of our strategy to facilitate better access to financial markets for private investors in the UK. Working with issuers and market makers we have grown the size and profile of the market, and are seeing promising growth in trading activity. We will look to build on this momentum in the ORB's second year, attracting new issuers, participants and investors to the marketplace."
Ben Board, Director, RBS Listed Products, said:
"RBS is very proud to have been the first issuer on the ORB. We are committed to providing investors with interesting and innovative investment opportunities on the ORB such as the Inflation Multiplier and Step-up Bonds. The ORB has been a welcome initiative from the LSE that will help drive the fixed income market and should benefit the UK for years to come."
Alex Snow, Chief Executive Officer at Evolution Securities, said:
"Evolution Securities is delighted to be playing a prominent role in the development of the ORB. Evolution's Fixed Income platform has been a pioneer supporter of the new initiative and has been the most active market maker on the ORB since inception. We believe that retail bonds are important not only as a flexible new source of funding for borrowers but it also addresses the problem of a lack of simple and transparent investment products available to retail investors. A vibrant retail bond market will bring the UK in line with other major markets where corporates and other issuers access retail investors alongside wholesale capital markets and bank borrowing."
The London Stock Exchange will host an event on 25 February 2011 at its Paternoster Square headquarters to mark the first year of the ORB's operation. Exchange executives, issuers, market makers and industry experts will discuss the development of the platform over its first year and prospects for its evolution going forward.
The market was launched in response to strong private investor demand for greater access to fixed income, and offers continuous two way tradable prices in low denomination, stamp duty free debt securities. ORB bonds maturing in five years time or later are also eligible for inclusion in ISAs.
