This year’s best outsourced trading provider succeeded in keeping its ship steady and maintaining a high level of client service through the financial market turbulence experienced early and late in the year. This, according to Jack Seibald (pictured), managing director and global co-head, prime brokerage & outsourced trading, was one of Cowen Prime Services’s best achievements over the course of the year.
“Despite the curve balls thrown at our clients by the markets, we continued to expand both our prime brokerage and outsourced trading businesses. This achievement is a reflection of the loyal and dedicated team we have at Cowen which aims to serve our clients each and every day,” Seibald says. He adds that the firm’s success in the past year was manifest in the continued growth of its client roster as well a record year in revenues and profits.
In 2018, Cowen delivered on its objectives, Seibald says. These included gaining market share in both prime brokerage and outsourced trading, further building out its capabilities through investments in seasoned personnel and more effective technology solutions.
As passive strategies continue to creep into the world of investment, Cowen focuses on clients who seek to outperform their peer groups. The firm supports active portfolio managers with sophisticated equity and credit research, insightful investment ideas, non-conflicted trading and execution services, comprehensive brokerage solutions and high quality capital markets transactions.
When it comes to trends in the part of the industry his firm services, Seibald expects allocators and investors will continue to migrate toward investments via managed accounts instead of into comingled funds. He also believes fees allocators will be willing to pay fund managers will continue to compress. “Our comprehensive solutions, including our evolved trade execution and aggregated portfolio reporting capabilities, easily accommodates both investors and managers in a seamless and efficient manners. The high-touch operational support we offer allows managers to focus on investing their portfolios and generating returns, while we, as their partners, solve for the non-investment related matters,” says Seibald.
Over the course of the coming year, Seibald explains the firm aims to further develop its outsourced trading franchise through a more focused marketing effort and the addition of personnel with expertise beyond equities. Cowen also plans to extend the reach of its capital introduction effort in support of new business development through the addition of seasoned personnel with both allocator or investor and marketing experience.
“We also aim to grow prime brokerage through an enhanced sales and marketing effort aimed at more established managers who may be in need of the more comprehensive set of services we offer,” says Seibald. He adds Cowen is also looking to extend its international book of business from its European base as well as launching prime brokerage and outsourced trading in Asia, pending regulatory approval which is expected to come through in the second quarter of the year.
“Winning the award is quite gratifying for our entire team and it further validates all the hard work we put into servicing our clients each and every day, and the results we achieved for 2018,” Seibald concludes. n
