Over half of sell-side execution desks focused on listed derivatives still rely on spreadsheets or email to manage pre-trade risk limits, and fewer than half have automated their data management processes for setting client limits, the latest Acuiti Sell-Side Execution Management Insight Report has found.

The quarterly Sell-Side Execution Management Insight Report is based on a survey of the Acuiti Sell-Side Execution Expert Network, comprising senior executives from banks and brokerages across the globe. This quarter’s report takes a deep dive into pre-trade limits and risk management in partnership with KRM22.

The report reveals that manual models of data management remain prevalent in pre-trade risk and limit management for many firms across the sell-side. Just 46% of firms have automated their processes for setting pre-trade risk limits for clients, while 34% are still using spreadsheets and 20% relying on email or chat messages.

Despite recent regulatory and commercial pressures that have prompted extensive internal reviews across execution desks, the market still has some way to go in terms of automating limits management.

Only 29% of the network have invested in consolidating limit management across asset classes, though nearly half say they are planning to do so. Among those firms that have made the investment, all said it had brought benefits, with a quarter saying it had driven significant efficiencies.

Integration between limit and risk management functions also remains a challenge. Just 37% of the network say that viewing a client’s risk details in light of a limits change request is easy and can be handled by a single employee and more than half say it requires dialogue between different desks.

“This quarter’s report reveals a divide across the sell-side between those firms that have invested in pre-trade risk and limit management automation and those that haven’t,” says Ross Lancaster, Head of Research at Acuiti.

“This divide is likely to grow as volumes and volatility continue to soar and markets move towards a 24/7 cycle, which will require significant investment in automation.”

Momentum is building, however. Thirty-seven percent of firms say they have an active project or budget allocated to consolidating execution risk and limit management, with a further 29% in active discussion.

Dan Carter, KRM22 CEO, says: “These findings highlight a pivotal moment for the sell side. As volumes rise and markets accelerate toward a 24/7 trading cycle, the traditional, manual approach to managing limits and risk is no longer sustainable. Firms that invest now in automation and consolidated risk frameworks will be the ones best positioned to serve clients safely, efficiently, and competitively. At KRM22, we’re committed to helping our customers move beyond spreadsheets and fragmented processes so they can operate with the resilience and agility that today’s markets demand.”

Other key findings in this quarter’s report include:

• AI adoption is advancing but uneven across sell-side execution desks: Just over half of firms have AI operating in select front-office production use cases, while more than a quarter report no meaningful adoption at all.
• Testing client algorithms remains a persistent operational challenge: Only 4% of firms describe exchange requests to test and validate client algorithms as straightforward, with a quarter saying it is either very challenging or impossible.
• Firms are divided on ICE’s updated ATS ID registration requirements: 40% describe it as very complicated and 7% say it is impossible.
• Exchange fire drills remain an unwelcome burden for most execution desks: Seventy-nine percent of respondents describe exchange fire drills as at least a small inconvenience, with 35% calling them a significant disruption to desk operations.

The full report, Sell-Side Execution Management Insight Report Q2 2026, is available to download.

Source: Acuiti