James Morris, Senior Vice President and Head of Sales at Investortools, recently joined the Bond Dealers of America (BDA) Podcast, Bonding Time, to discuss how technology is transforming fixed-income trading workflows, portfolio construction, and dealer connectivity across the municipal market.
Hosted by Mike Nicholas, CEO of the BDA, the podcast focuses on policy, market structure, and industry trends shaping the U.S. Bond markets.
With more than two decades of experience in fixed income, James Morris shared practical insights into how firms are using technology to operate more efficiently and scale their businesses in an increasingly complex market environment.
Integrating Technology Within Existing Workflows
Mike and James discussed the importance of technology that complements, rather than complicates, existing workflows. Morris emphasized that the most effective solutions integrate seamlessly into how users already work.
As SMA assets continue to grow, firms face increasing pressure to scale without adding operational burden. During the podcast, Morris discussed how the Investortools Dealer Network (IDN) and automated workflows help firms manage growth more effectively.
By combining broad dealer connectivity with tools built specifically for municipal and fixed-income markets, Investortools enables firms to scale SMA AUM while maintaining disciplined portfolio construction and execution processes.
Connectivity That Delivers Better Outcomes
James also highlighted how the IDN plays a critical role in improving trading outcomes. By connecting buy-side firms with a broad set of dealers through a single platform, Investortools provides users with access to liquidity more efficiently and make better-informed decisions—all without leaving their existing workflow.
James noted that with the IDN clients now have a live version of their secondary market that is executable.
“That has really unlocked these other products we’ve had together in a suite,” he said.
Clients now have the ability to put together a workflow that “has a new portfolio invested in 15 minutes, 30 minutes, if people really want to get that aggressive. We’ve really debuted some workflows that have allowed people, especially at the SMA community, to get efficiency gains that they never anticipated.”
About Investortools
For more than four decades, Investortools has been a leading provider of solutions regarded by the industry as a prerequisite for fixed-income investment management. Its comprehensive product suite covers portfolio, order, and execution management, performance analytics, 2a-7 compliance, and credit analysis. Trusted by over 200 firms managing more than $1 trillion in assets, Investortools supports SMA managers, fund managers, broker-dealers, and other key market participants.
About Bond Dealers of America
The Bond Dealers of America is the Washington, D.C. based trade association that exclusively represents securities dealers and banks whose primary focus is the U.S. fixed income markets. We work passionately to promote public policies and market practices that improve the market environment while also providing a forum for its members to debate and discuss issues of common interest. The BDA acts as a clearinghouse for industry information and issues and provides educational opportunities for industry professionals through conferences, seminars and roundtables. By supporting the interests and prosperity of our members, we help to strengthen the companies, municipalities and investors who depend on them for both access to market liquidity and to raise the capital they need to grow and prosper.
