A handful of industry associations have urged European authorities to address gaps within the current plans for the EU’s equity and ETF consolidated tape, a real-time feed of trades and quotes across venues.
In a co-signed letter addressed to the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the European Principals Traders Association (EPTA) and consulting firm Protiviti outlined five recommendations to ensure an effective implementation of the tape:
Expand the depth of pre-trade quotes to five layers of price and volumes, a move which will gives users a better grasp of overall liquidity
Identify the venue on pre-trade data to enable better order routing and execution
Include ETCs (exchange-traded commodities) and ETNs (exchange-traded notes) as overlooking them risks greater fragmentation of market data
Encourage smaller venues (which have the ability to opt out) to contribute data, leading to greater visibility across the board
Secure a robust governance framework for the tape
The recommendations are "especially important" for ETFs because of the "highly fragmented" market, said Lara Shevchenko, senior policy advisor – market structure at EPTA.
"Greater visibility of where liquidity is available, and at what price and depth, will improve transparency and accessibility, particularly for retail investors," she added.
The equity and ETF consolidated tape forms part of the EU’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) initiative, a push to strengthen Europe’s capital markets by improving transparency.
“Granular data is the foundation of true transparency. Without it, investors will struggle to fully understand the dynamics of fragmented markets,” said Mark Montgomery, chief commercial office at xyt.
The equity and ETF tape is set to be provided by EuroCTP, a consortium of 14 exchange groups, after data provider xyt withdrew from the tender process in June citing the “lack of necessary financial backing”.
The tape is expected to become operational in the first half of 2026.
