- BofA Securities hosted its second annual Asia Pacific Integrated Quant Services Senior Leadership Conference in Hong Kong, convening more than 110 senior practitioners.
- Discussions highlighted a shift in Asia’s quant markets, with rising allocator interest, higher trading volumes and technology adoption reshaping how global funds operate.
- Participants from more than 70 organizations shared how strategies are scaling across markets, particularly around liquidity, regulation and market structure.
HONG KONG – A shift is underway in Asia’s quant markets, driven by rising allocator interest, higher trading volumes and technology adoption, discussions at BofA Securities’ Asia Pacific Integrated Quant Services Senior Leadership Conference on May 20, 2026, in Hong Kong highlighted.
More than 110 senior practitioners from over 70 organizations convened at the conference, including systematic funds, market makers, multi-strategy platforms and global investors.
Participants noted that average daily trading volumes rose 55% in China, 146% in Korea, 48% in Japan and 85% in Taiwan this year (see point 1 below), underscoring how increased activity is supporting strategy scaling across markets. Discussions also highlighted a growing focus on platform infrastructure, regulatory readiness, and talent as key enablers of growth.
“Systematic investing in Asia is scaling rapidly,” said David Broadfield, head of Asia Pacific Prime Financing at BofA Securities. “As clients expand strategies across markets and asset classes, consistency of execution, financing and access to liquidity is becoming increasingly important.”
Client repositioning across Asia
As investors seek new sources of alpha and resilient execution, discussions highlighted expanding strategies in Asia to capture fragmented liquidity, respond to evolving market structure and leverage new data sources. The rise of retail-driven trading, alternative venues and regulatory change is reshaping how global funds operate.
“Amid this evolving backdrop, we are seeing increased client activity as portfolios are repositioned and strategies broaden across markets,” said Xavier Feschet, head of Asia Pacific Equities at BofA Securities. “Our Global Markets platform — spanning regions, asset classes and products — enables us to deliver the scale, financing, liquidity, innovation and risk management solutions required to support clients’ increasingly sophisticated needs.”
Frequently asked questions
Question: What is the Asia Pacific Integrated Quant Services Senior Leadership Conference?
Answer: The Asia Pacific Integrated Quant Services Senior Leadership Conference focuses on systematic investing, covering cross-asset positioning, execution and market structure.
Question: Why are investors focusing more on Asia?
Answer: As the hedge fund ecosystem matures, clients are focusing on diversification, scale and operating across markets. Expansion into Asia has increased in recent years through both strategy deployment and regional growth. Asia continues to be an important market for hedge funds, supported by liquidity and evolving market structure, as discussed at the conference.
Question: What are the conference highlights?
Answer: The agenda featured panels on scaling Asia-focused quant strategies globally, the evolution of the quant landscape, market access and regulation, market structure innovation, retail-driven liquidity, alternative data and trading infrastructure.
Question: How does this connect to BofA Securities’ offering?
Answer: The Integrated Quant Services platform delivers execution, financing, and market structure expertise to help systematic managers scale strategies, supported by its Global Markets platform. Learn more about BofA Securities’ Global Markets platform.
Additional Information
[1] 2026 year-to-day vs. FY2025; Source: BofA Securities, based on Bloomberg data as of May 20, 2026
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