Electronification Accelerates: TS Imagine Releases Fixed Income Momentum Data

TS Imagine, the leading global, cross-asset provider of trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions for financial institutions, today released its latest fixed income momentum indicators, highlighting significant growth in electronic trading volumes, protocol usage, and automation across its TradeSmart platform.

The data, captured from TradeSmart’s Fixed Income EMS, reflects a clear acceleration in the buy-side’s adoption of electronic tools and workflows, particularly in response to growing pressure for scalability, price discovery, and reduced information leakage.

In Q1 2025, overall fixed income trading volume on TradeSmart rose 33% compared to Q1 2024. Government bonds led this surge with a 71% year-over-year increase in volume. Meanwhile, trading volumes in emerging market bonds increased by 57% over the same period.

Protocol-specific metrics point to major shifts in market behaviour:

• Direct Dealer protocol volumes increased by 496% year-over-year, reflecting a growing preference for point-to-point electronic liquidity and improved pricing.
• RFQ Responding protocol usage grew fifteenfold, while total RFQ trading volumes rose by 44%.
• All-to-all (A2A) trading hit a new quarterly record in Q1 2025, rising 133% over Q1 2024.
• Overall trade count rose by 25% versus Q1 2024.

TS Imagine also saw continued growth in automation usage across fixed income protocols, with a 51% increase in activity linked to automated execution tools. These capabilities allow TradeSmart users to scale their trading strategies while minimising manual workflows and improving response times to market opportunities.

Andrew Morgan, President and Chief Revenue Officer at TS Imagine commented: “These figures highlight a clear acceleration in the electronification of fixed income trading. We’re seeing greater adoption of protocols like Click-to-Trade and all-to-all engagement, which signals a shift away from legacy workflows and toward more agile, data-driven execution. As markets become more complex and interconnected, scalable technology that supports automation and direct access to liquidity is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s essential.”