Securities Trading

Premium execution, State-of-the-art technology, Global coverage

These are some of the ways we give institutional clients the trading edge.

Providing agency-only trading, PGM Global is a highly focused operation, with our sights set clearly on delivering trading excellence to institutional clients worldwide. Our trading team works with clients to define their desired coverage and be a source of information for global trading, reporting and settlement.

Executional excellence, backed by leading technology

With trading volumes of $95 billion annually, we are known for advanced execution capabilities. PGM’s global trading desk operates 24-hours, five days a week and successfully deals in all investment types, including equities, options, fixed income and currency. To satisfy complex trading needs and achieve best execution for our clients, we use a combination of cutting-edge technology and sophisticated trading algorithms. Our expert team of traders strives for error-free execution in each and every transaction.

Putting client interests first – always

Agency-only trading allows us to remain independent and avoid the conflicts inherent in the traditional brokerage model, which combines agency and proprietary trading using a venue agnostic approach. This has earned us the patronage of some of the world’s most respected investment firms and institutional investors.

Global Trading Coverage

We trade internationally across more than 50 markets, and have trading and clearing relationships with securities firms spanning the planet. Besides helping us efficiently execute trades and settlements, these relationships arm us with high-caliber, up-to-the-minute market intelligence at the local, regional and global levels.

Americas

PGM has extensive trading experience and contacts in the U.S., Canadian and Latin American markets. The U.S. is currently our most actively traded market. Headquartered in Canada, we have an innate grasp of the particular characteristics of the Canadian marketplace; for example, finding liquidity in what is often characterized as a “block market” is key to achieving best execution. Latin America is a rapidly developing area where we have built a solid expertise and have access to localized intelligence.

Europe, Middle East and Africa

These markets are highly fragmented and have a unique set of nuances, which our traders draw on to gain best price and best execution for clients. We have an extensive network of local contacts, including brokers and industry experts with whom we work closely to understand the latest market developments and how to capitalize on them.

Asia

From Hong Kong to Singapore to Bombay, Asian capital markets have quickly “grown up” in a short time frame, experiencing increased trading volumes, liquidity and breadth. Our Asian trading desk understands the region’s diverse jurisdictions, including their varying stages of market development and differing regulations, and seeks out market opportunities and trading channels for our clients.

Technology

To achieve best execution for our clients, we use the latest technology and proprietary trading software. Our software platform offers a competitive, basket-trading facility and seamlessly interfaces with clients’ order or execution systems. Orders may be routed to multiple execution management systems accessing diverse algorithm servers.

Secure trading networks

We are able to service clients through the following secure trading networks:

Bloomberg Equity Order Routing
Charles River
Eze Castle
Fidessa Fix
Flex Now
Instinet
IRESS
ITGNet Fix (FMN)
LSE Hub Fix Macgregor
NYFIX
Portware
Sunguard
Thomson Tradeweb Fix (ATR)
Transaction Network Solutions (TNS)

PGM Global is a member of Euroclear and S.W.I.F.T., as well as a client of SSCNet, OMGEO Alert, OMGEO Oasys and OMGEO Oasys Global.

Commission Sharing Agreements

We offer trading clients the ability to use our 24-hour, agency-only trading desk to pay for a broad selection of research products and services through Commission Sharing Arrangements (CSA). By setting up a CSA with PGM, clients can reallocate commissions to third parties – such as other brokers, independent research providers and market data providers such as Bloomberg or Refinitiv –for their research. The CSA provides for an execution-only commission rate to be subtracted from the client’s full-service commission rate. The balance of the commission is held on account by PGM and paid out upon instruction from the client to diverse research providers of their choice.

Benefits for clients

CSA’s are a way to unbundle execution costs from research costs, providing an efficient, inexpensive and transparent way for investment managers to pay for independent research while getting the very best execution services available.

Execution Rankings

PGM provides value for client commission dollars

PGM Global is consistently highly ranked as one of the most efficient agency-only brokers in the world according to independent analysis conducted by Elkins/McSherry:

2021: ranked No. 2 among global brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by US dollar volume, on rolling four-quarter data as of December 31, 2021.
2020: ranked No. 8 among global brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by U.S. dollar volume, and based on rolling four-quarter data as of September 30, 2020.
2019: ranked No. 9 among global brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by U.S. dollar volume, and based on rolling four-quarter data as of December 31, 2019.
2018: ranked No. 3 among global brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by U.S. dollar volume.
2017: ranked No. 7 among global brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by U.S. dollar volume, and based on rolling four-quarter data as of June 30, 2017.
2016: ranked No. 4 among brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 50 brokers by U.S. dollar volume, and based on rolling four-quarter data as of March 31, 2016.
2015: ranked No. 1 among brokers trading U.S. equities and No. 5 among brokers trading global equities for arrival price in a study conducted by Elkins/McSherry of 2015 transaction cost data. PGM’s costs for trading U.S. equities are more than 20 basis points lower than the closest competitor.
2014: ranked No. 1 among brokers trading U.S. equities and No. 7 among brokers trading global equities for arrival price in a study conducted by Elkins/McSherry of 2014 transaction cost data. PGM’s costs for trading U.S. equities are more than 25 basis points lower than the closest competitor.
2013: moved from 6th to 3rd among agency-only brokers trading global equities for arrival price, and from 6th to 4th using VWAP as a benchmark, based on the top 2000 brokers by U.S. dollar volume.
2012: ranked No. 6 among agency-only brokers trading global equities for both arrival price and VWAP, based on the top 2000 brokers by U.S. dollar volume.
2011: ranked No. 2 overall trading for arrival price, based on the top 2000 brokers by U.S. dollar volume.
2010: ranked No. 2 among brokers trading U.S. equities and No. 3 among brokers trading global equities for arrival price, based on the top 200 brokers by U.S. dollar volume.