Equity issuance hits record heights in 2021: Refinitiv

Amid buoyant stock markets, global equity issuance hit an all-time record through the first nine months of 2021, according to new data from Refinitiv.

New issue activity was up 25%, to US$956.8 billion, in the first nine months and compared with the same period last year. The number of deals also was up about 25% year over year to 5,363.

Global initial public offering (IPO) activity reached US$301.1 billion in the year to date, more than double the total for the same period last year — and hitting a record.

At the same time, secondary offerings were also at new heights, totalling US$511.5 billion in the first nine months of 2021, up 6% from a year ago.

Despite that record-setting activity, the pace of dealmaking slowed in the third quarter, with the number of new issues down 14%. The value raised was down 28% from the second quarter.

Refinitiv also reported that global debt market activity was down about 7% through the first nine months of the year, to US$7.8 trillion. The number of deals was down about 2% year over year.

As with equity markets, debt-market dealmaking  slowed notably in the third quarter, with the number of deals down 13% from the second quarter, and the value of those transactions down 18%.

The decline in debt-market activity in the year to date has been centred in investment-grade corporate debt, which saw issuance drop 13% year over year. Conversely, global high-yield debt activity jumped 30% in the first none months of the year, to US$543.1 billion, marking a record for the period.

Green bond issuance has been very strong this year, too. According to data from Refinitiv and The Climate Bonds Initiative, new issues of green bonds more than doubled to US$359.8 billion in the first nine months.

JP Morgan continued to lead the global debt league tables, followed by Citi and BofA Securities. RBC Capital Markets was the top-ranked Canadian firm, in 14th spot, down from 12th place last year. TD Securities ranked 23rd, down from 16th place in 2020.

On the equity side, Goldman Sachs took over top spot from Morgan Stanley, which slipped to second place in the global league tables. JP Morgan hung onto third place.

Among Canadian firms, RBC was ranked 18th, with BMO Capital Markets and Canaccord Genuity both climbing into the top 25, in 23rd and 24th place, respectively.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.