Best execution product of the year: BestX

Collecting the win for Best execution product of the year is transaction cost analysis (TCA) and best execution specialist BestX. There are many facets to best execution, which not only include price but also extend to speed, likelihood of execution and settlement, size and nature of the order, as well as a host of other considerations to ensure firms obtain the best possible result for clients. 

Since its inception in 2016, BestX has recognised that each firm’s best execution policy differs, and has sought to enable its clients to codify their best execution policies and processes through cutting-edge analytics and software. Clients customise the benchmarks relevant to their process within BestX Factors, set their thresholds and receive automated alerts within exception reporting.

Judges said:

• “The commitment to customisation stands out.”
• “Good, diverse mix of client endorsements.”
• “Distinctive model.”

Over the years, BestX has added to its asset class coverage and today covers foreign exchange, fixed income, equities, commodities and crypto, all within a single system. A key differentiator is that each asset class product has been built specifically for that asset class, as opposed to reusing the framework from another product, which tends to compromise performance. 

The combination of these products within a single system enables compliance to have a consistent approach and familiar functionality in providing oversight to the trading teams. It also provides multi-asset trading desks with a single tool for broker reviews, asset owner reports, committee reports, exception monitoring and workflow. 

BestX adopts a ‘client-led and quant-served’ ethos, which has led to the creation of several proprietary metrics to provide clients with better insights into their performance. It also signals its unique peer universe database, derived from a client network of more than 170 firms managing $48 trillion in assets, as a key differentiator. This database has enhanced the best execution process in a number of ways, including training BestX’s expected cost model to provide an independent measure for every trade across every asset class. Clients that opt for peer analysis also benefit from a relative comparison of their performance and can identify areas for improvement.  

BestX has distilled this complex, quantitative approach into an intuitive and user-friendly interface. It considers ease of use critical for increased adoption, as it allows clients to make more informed decisions in achieving their best execution objectives. 

All product enhancements are client-led, with BestX holding regular client advisory boards that dictate the priorities for future releases. Key developments over the past 12 months include improving the user interface and revamping its FX Pre Trade tool so clients can use BestX research for optimal panel sizes, among other improvements.

It has also released custodian peer analysis functionality, which allows clients to compare their own custody FX costs with those of their peers. This functionality builds on a number of years of work, automating the input of custodian FX data feeds into BestX so as to improve data capture for clients.

Yusuf Nurbhai, head of BestX, says: ​​​​​​

“We are honoured to be recognised with this category award again for 2024, underscoring broad client endorsement that positions BestX as the industry standard for TCA and best execution analytics across all asset classes. This comes from our foundation of being a client-led and quant-served firm, allowing us to focus on what our clients need. Our focus is always on ‘smart and verified data’ rather than ‘big data’ – saving our clients time and money with their data strategies and automation.”

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