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Intercontinental Exchange has made a significant move by introducing MSCI MarketAxess Tradable Corporate Bond Index futures. These futures are based on the newly created corporate bond indices by MSCI and MarketAxess. This development aims to offer a benchmark for the performance of the corporate bond market, integrating sector and credit allocation to minimize tracking error with the MSCI parent indices and ensure reliable replication of the credit market.

Welcome Addition to Credit Futures Suite

Antony Harden, the Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, emphasized the significance of this launch. He stated, "The introduction of ICE MSCI MarketAxess Corporate Bond futures is a welcome addition to the existing range of credit futures. The timing couldn't be better as client adoption has reached an all-time high. Credit futures are now finding their place in investors' toolkits."This indicates the growing demand for such products among institutional investors. It showcases how these futures can enhance their strategies and manage corporate bond portfolios more effectively.

Expanding Market Reach

Caterina Caramaschi, the Vice President of Financial Derivatives at ICE, highlighted the company's market dominance. She said, "ICE's markets account for over 70% of global MSCI futures trading in equity markets. We are delighted to extend our relationship into the corporate bond futures market. The launch reflects the increasing demand from investors for tools that enable better management of corporate bond portfolios. We extend our gratitude to MSCI and MarketAxess for their collaborative efforts."This expansion demonstrates ICE's commitment to providing comprehensive financial solutions and meeting the evolving needs of the market.

Enhanced Liquidity and Efficiency

George Harrington, the Managing Director at MSCI, expressed excitement about the collaboration. He said, "We are thrilled to be working with ICE and MarketAxess to offer investors innovative tools for more efficient credit exposure management. By combining MSCI's index methodologies, MarketAxess' unique liquidity metrics, and ICE's leading trading platform, clients can achieve enhanced liquidity and trade more efficiently."This highlights the value added by the integration of these three entities and how it benefits investors in terms of liquidity and trading efficiency.

Generating Liquidity in Cash Markets

Kat Sweeney, the Global Head of Data and ETF Solutions at MarketAxess, emphasized the importance of credit futures. She stated, "Credit futures are a crucial tool for a healthy market and our institutional clients. They have the potential to generate more liquidity in the cash markets. We are proud to have introduced these tradable indices with MSCI and are equally excited to expand our data and trading relationship with ICE through the launch of these futures."This shows how the introduction of these futures can have a positive impact on the overall market ecosystem.