The Liquidity Illusion: Rethinking Execution in Fragmented Markets [2026 Report]

    

We surveyed 100 senior trading and market structure leaders across the buy side and sell side, in partnership with xyt. The survey explores how market fragmentation is impacting execution, where confidence breaks down in pre-trade liquidity assessment, how desks adapt strategies intraday, and how effectively firms can diagnose outcomes and learn from post-trade analysis.

Together, the results highlight where execution teams are investing, the operational and data constraints they continue to face, and what best-in-class trading desks do differently.

Chapters:

  • The buy-side reality check: Trading in fragmented markets
  • Pre-trade: Building a liquidity view you can trust
  • Intra-trade: Adapting Strategy and Participation
  • Post-trade: Proving best execution and learning fast
  • Operational excellence: Future-proofing the desk with data

This report distils these insights, with commentary from xyt and the TradeTech community. These themes will also be explored further at TradeTech Europe in April 2026.

Read Now!