Niki Beattie, managing director of Market Structure Partners, said: “Exchanges have adjusted their fees for the continuous trading period whilst defending or increasing pricing in auctions. It shows exchanges will charge more where they can.” Euronext, for example, charges 0.6 basis points for trading during its auction periods, compared with 0.1 basis points for continuous trading…

The report was authored by Market Structure Partners. CEO Niki Beattie, a well respected expert on market structure issues, said the findings show combined costs for clearing in Australia are the third most expensive in developed markets after Spain and Brazil.

Looking at value and number of trades cleared vs the average cost to clear them, the report shows Australia as the second most expensive market after Brazil, even once economies of scale have been accounted for….

…The study, commissioned by Pershing, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was authored by Market Structure Partners. The firm’s chief executive officer Niki Beattie, says the findings show combined costs for clearing in Australia are the third most expensive in developed markets after Spain and Brazil. Looking at value and number of trades cleared vs the average cost to clear them, the report shows Australia as the second most expensive market after Brazil,…

…The primary objective of the report was to examine the costs of trading, clearing and settlement in Australia. The report was published by a UK-based research company, Market Structure Partners but commissioned by a group of 10 Australian clearing participants – Citigroup, Credit Suisse,… Authored by Market Structure Partners CEO Niki Beattie, the report states: “Total overall transaction costs in Australia are higher than in markets where there is fully functioning competition in trading…

…Looking at value and number of trades cleared versus the average cost to clear them, the report shows Australia as the second most expensive market after Brazil, even when economies of scale have been accounted for.

Market Structure Partners CEO Niki Beattie says the three most expensive markets for post-trade – Spain, Brazil and Australia – all have one dominant exchange.

The report also analyses the unusual risk management and default “waterfall” model used in Australia….

…The investment banks are among ten of Australia’s largest users of equity clearing services who commissioned their own report on clearing costs from Market Structure Partners (MSP) following the June release of an ASX-commissioned report.

The MSP report found clearing and settlement costs of equities in Australia are higher on average when benchmarked across other global markets. Clearing and settlement are risk management procedures where buyers and sellers deal with a third-party agency to ensure that trades are transacted and settled correctly…

The ASX has argued that the reason its fees are higher are because unlike other countries,the $250 million in capital supports the clearing house and which would be drawn upon should a major default occur, is provided by ASX rather than by participants.

But the author of the report Niki Beattie, former head of Market Structure at Merrill Lynch in London, said the ASX needs to “justify” how it arrived at that figure.

…“Australians are paying much more than most for their clearing and settlement even when you take economies of scale into account,” said Niki Beattie, a former head of Europe, Middle East and Africa market structure at Merrill Lynch who now runs consulting firm Market Structure Partners Ltd. in London, which carried out the latest study. “There is room for improvement.”…

Every September, Brummell showcases the most successful women currently working in the City and, this year, we focus on entrepreneurs.
Niki Beattie Founder, Market Structure Partners
Following a career at Merrill Lynch spanning many changes in capital-markets technology and regulation,
Niki Beattie founded Market Structure Partners in 2008, providing strategic advice on financial-market structure…

Market Structure Partners’ CEO Niki Beattie is listed at number 45 in The Trade News’ The 100 Most Influential People in Buy-Side Trading.