MarketAxess made significant progress in 2021 advancing our ESG strategy and initiatives. Our teams are executing on a broad-based plan to help our clients to meet their ESG goals, while positively impacting society and maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance. We are excited by the growing role that we can play in this area for our customers, stockholders, and communities.
After more than two decades as a catalyst for change in the world’s largest capital markets, MarketAxess understands the sustained effort required to make a meaningful difference in the world. To achieve this, we are focused on the expansion of our ESG strategy, including electronic trading and data solutions to assist our clients in meeting their ESG goals.
Strengthening our ESG strategy
As part of our mission to maximize stakeholder value, we strive to incorporate ESG principles into our business strategies and organizational culture. To that end, in 2021, we completed our first comprehensive, non-financial ESG materiality and prioritization assessment. Drawing on the framework of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the criteria of ESG rating agencies, our team engaged with internal and external stakeholders to identify the factors driving long-term business performance and societal impact. The assessment takes into account our alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as described in this year’s report.
Among our highest priority ESG topics identified by the assessment were Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Human Capital Development. As detailed in the report, many of our ESG investments in 2021 were made for the purpose of promoting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace environment. The financial services industry has much work to do in this area and we can play a leading role.
To further incentivize our efforts in this area, our Board has adopted long-term diversity and human capital goals that will be among the factors considered when determining the compensation of our Global Management Team. We will be implementing this important step during the 2022 year-end compensation cycle.
The report also details our efforts related to other priority topics identified by the assessment, including customer privacy, data security, ethical conduct of business, and employee health and wellbeing. While the assessment identified environmental topics as a lower priority for our company, we are excited to begin our carbon footprint measurement project and have included an update in the report.
We are proud of the work we do with our Board to maintain corporate governance standards that are among the highest in our peer group. Sound corporate governance is an essential foundation for creating long term stockholder value.
Creating opportunities for our clients
As the role of MarketAxess in the world financial system continues to grow, we are more committed than ever to our purpose:
To open global markets, creating more opportunities for the companies, institutions, and individuals who depend on them.
Our purpose is grounded in our belief that opening markets can deliver significant benefits to society. Technology is the key to unlocking those benefits.
Our innovative technology connects nearly 1,900 firms around the world to efficiently trade fixed-income securities. Using solutions that incorporate AI and all-to-all trading, our clients can more easily and confidently execute their investment strategies with lower trading costs. The breadth of our network, when combined with our innovative solutions, means that clients—no matter their size, investment approach or geographic location—have more choice and opportunity than ever before to find the trade they want to make, when they want to make it.
The benefits of open markets go well beyond finding the right portfolio opportunity. Over time, the savings from this increased efficiency mean that the individuals who are the ultimate investors—mutual fund investors, pension plan participants, ETF investors and insurance policy holders—retain more of their investment returns. Structurally, this technology-driven openness strengthens the resilience of fixed-income markets on which companies rely to finance business investments, and that governments and communities tap to fund spending, education and infrastructure priorities. Market resilience and confidence is especially important in periods of higher volatility when MarketAxess has proven to be an essential marketplace for fixed income participants.
As we move forward with our ESG initiatives, we are making the most of the opportunities MarketAxess has by virtue of its global business to promote solutions that advance equality, build communities, and strengthen access and fairness in the world’s capital markets.
Last year, we brought a bold innovation specifically designed to promote fairness and equal access to fixed-income markets —the Diversity Dealer Initiative (DDI). We know that our clients want efficient access to the services and trading liquidity of minority-, women-, and veteran-owned broker-dealers as part of their own commitment to ESG principles. Through DDI we have delivered a solution that is already expanding the interaction and activity levels between global investors and diverse dealer firms.
Committing to our values
In addressing the challenges of creating equitable workplaces and markets, our team leans into the same values that have helped our Company continue to grow and prosper: collaboration, imagination, transparency, tenaciousness and agility.
These values drive MarketAxess employees every day to work toward our purpose – opening markets to create opportunities for all. I thank them for their dedication and look forward to reporting continued progress in the years to come.
Rick McVey
Chairman and CEO
We're committed to optimizing our employees’ talents and capabilities
We make every effort to commit to actions that result in a healthier planet for all.
We're committed to maintaining the highest standards of business conduct.
How MarketAxess defines sustainability
Sustainability is a business’ ongoing commitment to advance economic prosperity while appreciating and improving the world in which it operates.
MarketAxess recognizes its responsibility as a global corporate citizen to positively impact our employees, customers, environment and communities through demonstrating our commitment to sustainability.
Green bond trading is going electronic
MarketAxess moves to support clients' sustainable investment strategies.
In this article from the Wall Street Journal, learn more about Green Bond trends and how our initiatives could help satisfy your sustainable investment needs.