Jesse Forster

When it comes to the industry’s opinion on “new innovative trading venues”, the latest Coalition Greenwich report found that an overwhelming 91% of both US low-touch brokers and their buy-side clients have between “a little” and “a lot” of interest in the venues. 

This huge number is understandable given the significant amount of all US equity volume being executed on ATSs. With institutional trading contributing around 33% of overall equity market volumes, the conclusion is that half of all liquidity needs are currently being fulfilled on ATSs.

Speaking to the rise of ATSs – thanks in large part to their established focus on execution quality above all else – one electronic trading head based in the US told Coalition Greenwich: “They solved for performance, now they just need to solve for liquidity”.

Read more: Data arms race heats up as venues and vendors eye buy-side business through new initiatives 

Delving deeper into the data, 38% and 53% of US low-touch brokers showed “a lot” and “a little” interest respectively, compared to 28% and 63% respectively on the buy-side client side.

Speaking to the motivators, one surveyed sell-side head asserted: “The buy side wants to see us trading there. They expect us to be experimenting with them with different types of orders under different conditions in different times of the day.”

This is arguably a straightforward supply and demand situation. With market sentiment shifting, many across the market are crediting the new generation of traders with driving change thanks to their new age thinking and openness to new ideas and innovations.

Trading venues are continually having to adapt as liquidity gets more and more fragmented – a key challenge when it comes to ATSs. However, it is apparent that key market participants on both the buy- and sell-side are highly cognisant of the importance of not falling behind the curve of change. 

As the landscape develops at an ever-faster pace, it is only logical that so too will the means by which trading is executed.

Jesse Forster, head of equity market structure and technology at Coalition Greenwich, explained: “ATSs are incubators in a market structure laboratory, with less stringent rule sets than exchanges. The ATSs gaining traction today have sparked a hunger for further innovation, paving the way for the next generation of groundbreaking trading venues to emerge.”

Coalition Greenwich’s ‘the innovators: how and why alternative trading systems succeed’ study was based on feedback from Q3 2024 wherein interviews were conducted with equity market professionals in the US working at ATSs, exchanges, asset managers, broker-dealers, fintech providers, and industry associations.

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Kicking off this whistle-stop summary as the number one most impactful innovation in the industry is the order and/or execution management system (OEMS) – the beating heart of trading desks around the world. Brought to market in the early 2000s, the sometimes combined and sometimes separated systems were designed to enhance the previously manual processes associated with managing and executing orders. They offer a nifty alternative to the previous plethora of both written records and later, excel spreadsheets that traders were previously forced to grapple with each day to keep things in order.

These systems touch upon all elements of the trading lifecycle throughout the front-to-middle-to-back-office including execution, order, risk and portfolio management. Traders’ order blotters sit within these systems and trading teams use these systems to consolidate data sources and research in one place to increase efficiency and speed when going about day-to-day activities. They also use them to access the market, connecting directly to counterparties to access liquidity. An EMS overlays an OMS by enhancing connectivity, aggregating data and being more flexible as it solely pertains to execution needs.

The systems are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the industry with new third-party vendors integrating their offerings via API in order to gain access to clients using them. While adoption is widespread in equities other asset classes such as fixed income have been slower to adopt these systems given the nuances of the workflows and liquidity landscapes in these markets. For more information on the various providers in the EMS market, check out The TRADE’s annual survey.

2. Bloomberg Terminal

Up next and needing little introduction is the Bloomberg Terminal, Bloomberg’s data and proprietary trading platform. First brought to market in the early 80s the system has over the decades earned its title as the leading market data source and a must have for any financial institution looking to execute in the markets. This is reflected in its annual subscription now nearing $30,000. For this reason, the system is favoured by institutional investors as opposed to individual ones.

Its black background and computerised white text might seem a little out of date to individuals outside of the industry but its role in the financial markets has cemented this interface as a poster child for financial services. Home to Bloomberg’s central data services the interface offers users access to news, data, analytics, and multi-asset trading tools. Given its widespread adoption by institutions it’s also a people move source as users can see up to date contact details of peers. According to Bloomberg, it offers  sell-side and independent research from over 1,500 sources as well as proprietary research on various industries and markets.

3. CLS

Coming in at number three is the multi-currency settlement system, CLS. While perhaps not one of the most exciting aspects of the trade lifecycle, settlement is a central process that acts as a pillar for the capital markets. The settlement period relates to the space of time between the trade date and the settlement date when a trade is considered complete. Within this window both the buyer and seller must undertake any necessary actions to ensure the transaction can be completed.

Established in 2002, the CLS network is designed to minimise risk and offer operational efficiency to institutions within the settlement window by avoiding bilateral settlement that is more likely to fail.

The settlement window has found itself in the industry spotlight as of late thanks to the recent decision from regulators in the US to move North American markets to a T+1 settlement period, down from T+2.

4. Central limit order book (CLOB)

While it is easy to romanticise the sheer graft that went into trading a few decades ago, the introduction of central limit order books (CLOBs) and streamed pricing were much-needed innovations. The idea that in order to understand the changing price of an individual stock or security, one would have to study daily directories and newspapers is something that many of those starting out in the industry today will never understand. With no central directory of orders in the market, understanding pricing must have been a headache to say the least, leaving many individuals subject to arduous process of calling everyone in the phone book.

CLOBs allow for transparency of live orders that are prioritised by price and time. By seeing what is available on the order book, traders have an idea of how much volume can be executed at a specific price. Facilitated by exchanges, a CLOB allows buyers and sellers to submit their trading interests and then utilises a matching engine to match buy and sell orders based on specific requirements such as price time priority. Once a trade has been matched the buy and sell orders are removed from the order book and the bid and ask prices are updated accordingly to reflect the change.

CLOBs offer greater transparency and consolidated liquidity meaning participants have a greater chance of trading. They’re typically used in equities given that this asset class trades on exchange unlike fixed income and some foreign exchange assets. Thanks to huge leaps in technology, participants can hide their full amounts in what’s known as “iceberg orders” that replenish the order book once liquidity has been matched and removed from the book.

5. Algorithmic trading

Rounding out the top five of The TRADE’s rankings of the most influential innovations to come to trading are algorithms and the concept of executing algorithmically or automatically. Most common for low touch and ‘easy flow’ algorithms are often used for small orders in highly liquid markets. Algorithms are a computer programmed trading workflow that follows a defined set of parameters. These parameters could be anything from liquidity seeking to volume dependant or venue-specific such as dark seeking.

Algorithms often offer traders a quick and easy route to market. They remove the opportunity for human error by taking away any manual processes and offer a low latency solution that will often achieve best execution and avoid any unwanted price changes.

While this all sounds fantastic and you may be wondering why they aren’t used for all flow, there are some downsides. Unpredictable activity in the markets such as Black Swan events can render algorithms that rely on historical data useless and result in losses for firms. At the other end of the spectrum, a lack of human judgement and intervention can sometimes result in lesser results in nuanced situations that require human intuition.

Buy-side institutions will often use a broker’s algorithmic suite for execution, with many sell-side institutions vying for the interest of clients with the launch of new and innovative products with flashy names. Less common is the development of proprietary algorithms inhouse on the buy-side given the cost, time to implement, and the speed at which priorities evolve. For more information on algorithmic trading providers, check out The TRADE’s annual survey.

6. The FIX Protocol

Think of the FIX Protocol – or the Financial Information Exchange Protocol – as a universal language allowing institutions to communicate clearly when looking to execute in the market. Used by the buy- and sell-side as well as venues and regulators the FIX Protocol is an industry standard used to complete transactions. It was originally cooked up in the early 90s by Robert Lamoureux and Chris Morstatt in order to exchange equity information between their respective firms Fidelity Investments and Salomon Brothers.

The crux of the protocol isa language comprised of a series of messaging specifications to be used in trade communications. Each specification whether it be size or time or client type has a number or letter associated with it making trading intentions clearer and more clean-cut no matter where they have come from. The protocol was designed in an attempt to simplify workflows and reduce error by creating an industry standard to adopted by all.

The standard is non-proprietary and free. It is owned by the FIX Trading Community made up of buy and sell-side firms, vendors, industry associations and trading venues. While originally only focused on equity information, the FIX protocol began supporting straight through processing (STP) in the 90s and also later added indication of interest (IOI) capabilities to its roster.

7. Dark pools

Dark pools are trading venues where institutional investors can access liquidity without giving away any pre-trade information. Dating back to the 80s these private pools emerged in the US as a way of institutional investors executing without showing their hand to the market in a bid to limit market impact, later arriving in Europe. Given the proliferation of high frequency trading (HFT) several investment banks chose to launch these alternative trading systems (ATS) as a means of protecting institutional clients who are typically slower to execute.

They were originally designed to facilitate block trading but have since evolved to support trades of all sizes – something that has led to criticism from some corners of the market in recent years. Some regulators – in particular those in Europe – have begun exploring how to limit dark trading in recent years given its potential role in reducing volumes on the price forming lit order books hosted by exchanges.

Dark trading is a popular practice globally. While there are specific dark pool operators such as Liquidnet and Virtu, many of the incumbent exchanges also have dark pool offerings.

8. All-to-all trading

Next up is all-to-all trading – which does what it says on the tin. The protocol is a type of trading that allows buy-side institutions to provide liquidity and trade amongst each other. Historically trading has always involved a sell-side counterparty that will access the market and source liquidity on behalf of a buy-side client. The introduction of all-to-all trading has subverted this workflow and is an attempt from venues operating these liquidity pools to offer buy-side firms an alternative means of trading.

The protocol is heavily focused on the fixed income markets and has seen recent growth in the foreign exchange sphere. It has seen a boom in recent years as institutions have looked to diversify the way that they executed. Chief among the catalysts for its growth was the Covid-19 pandemic which began in 2020 and subsequently saw many traditional sell-side institutions reduce their balance sheet and withdraw from the market.

Tradeweb launched its all-to-all corporate bond trading functionality in 2017. Rival fixed income trading venue Bloomberg launched its global all-to-all bond trading service in 2022. However, first off the bat was MarketAxess which launched its Open Trading all-to-all trading environment in 2012.

9. Transaction cost analysis (TCA)

Transaction cost analysis (TCA) is perhaps one of the most heavily discussed industry topics as of late thanks to the plethora of data now needed to execute and to prove best execution to clients. The process is used by institutional investors to analyse data to evaluate their trade performance post-trade, ensuring they have achieved the most competitive pricing. The data is used to make decisions on which sell-side counterparties to keep on an algo wheel or ‘panel’.

While the process has historically been a post-trade one, in today’s trading environment many desks are now assessing how to feed this information into their processes pre-trade in order to ensure further efficiencies.

Today, buy-side trading desks are increasingly using new technology to evolve their TCA use towards something more proactive, utilising predictive analytics that enable participants to anticipate and mitigate execution risks, optimise trading strategies, and help to generate alpha. The data is increasingly being used as more than a simple measurement, but instead is being applied to make better informed trading decisions.

TCA can be done in-house but is also offered by third party providers.

10. Systematic internalisers (SIs)

Next up in The TRADE’s innovation rundown are systematic internalisers (SIs). Usually hosted by bulge bracket banks, SIs are an internalising mechanism that allow banks to execute flow over the counter or off exchange. They’re an alternative venue to the lit order books hosted by exchanges. Within SIs, banks can cross flow from their various business divisions using their central risk books without going out to the market to find the other side. Within these ecosystems they can cross client flow with each other or cross it with their own proprietary workflows.

As an alternative trading venue to the lit order books these venues have found themselves under scrutiny as of late from some that argue that SI volumes are harmful to wider market structure as they do not contribute to price formation and fragment liquidity. Flip the coin and many participants argue that if a trade achieves best execution, it doesn’t really matter where it was executed so long as it achieved the optimal outcome.

In Europe, the SI regulatory regime was introduced in 2007 as part of the Mifid I regulation. The quasi-dark venues properly took off in 2018 with the introduction of Mifid II and greater restrictions on dark trading.

11. Direct market access (DMA)

Many of the innovations in this lengthy list offer a new way for buyers and sellers to access the markets and direct market access (DMA) is no different. In years gone by, buy-side firms have placed orders via a sell-side broker to be traded on exchange. However, DMA is the process of directly connecting electronically to an exchange in order to trade on exchange securities without using a broker or intermediary.

These pipes require advanced technological capabilities and are usually developed by sell-side firms. Buy-side firms will often pay to integrate said pipes in order to gain direct access to the exchange without having to go through the sell-side counterparty. The process offers a disintermediation of the typical broker trading workflow and creates greater optionality for investors looking to access the markets.

12. Hight Frequency Trading (HFT)

High frequency trading (HFT) firms have extraordinary computing capabilities. Sometimes known as proprietary trading desks, these firms are famous for their high-speed connections to the markets that leverage co-locations at exchanges and enhanced proprietary data feeds to gather information. They capitalise on the information gathered in one location to trade ahead of slower institutional investors on other venues.

The process was first brought to the world’s attention in Michael Lewis’ 2014 novel ‘Flash Boys’ which unpacks the role of latency in trading in light of the shift to electronification. The crux of the story: electronification and the laying of fibre optic cables to access venues had opened the door for these faster and more predatory firms, able to nip in ahead of institutional investors.

Today, HFT firms will often use microwaves using satellite dishes at exchanges to gain greater speed still. Some venues, such as Aquis, banned HFT on their venues as part of their USP. Aquis, however, moved to lift this ban last year in order to expand its liquidity pool in a decision that had both supporters and critics.

13. Exchange traded funds (ETFs)

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have seen a journey to dominance in the last ten years in the advent of more passive trading strategies as opposed to more active ones. ETFs offer investors a chance to buy and sell a basket of securities as if it were a single stock and transaction.

ETFs track and mirror how a pool of exchange traded securities is trading on exchange and price themselves accordingly. They can simply track an index or they can be made up of a custom basket of stocks. The first ETF to launch in the US was the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) in 1993. ETFs, among other index tracking investment vehicles, have become popular in the increasingly passive trading era where low risk index-based strategies offer greater returns for investors in exchange for half the fees charged by active investors. Given their low risk and low fee model they’re extremely popular with retail investors.

While these trading products are usually passive, active ETFs with an active manager picking and choosing what goes into them, have also seen a surge in popularity in recent years.

14. Periodic auctions

Coming in at number 14 are periodic auctions, an innovation which offer an alternative location for investors to trade instead of the lit order book. Like SIs, periodic auctions saw a boost in interest following the implementation of Mifid II regulation in 2018 and the restrictions it imposed on dark trading venues.

The core difference between a periodic auction and a CLOB is that periodic auctions are not continuous. Various models exist but at their core, periodic auctions collect buy and sell offers to determine a price and then triggers a call period whereby participants can see the indicative price and how many shares can be expected to be executed. Participants then have the option to submit firm orders into the auction. These built in inherent speed bumps favour slower investors and prevent them from being picked off as they might be in the lit books.

The venues have become increasingly popular in recent years because they help investors seek price improvement by prioritising order size over speed at the order allocation phase. They are price-forming rather than price-referencing and they introduce randomness in trade timing. Several alternative trading systems (ATS) being brought to market recently have built their offerings around the skeletal structure of a periodic auction.

15. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX)

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), has become an increasingly essential tool for traders as of late and, given the current market dynamics it’s likely it’ll remain front and centre in traders’ minds for a while yet. Created by Cboe Global Markets in 1993, the original index was used to measure the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility suggested by at-the-money S&P 100 Index (OEX Index) option prices.

In 2003, the index was updated as part of a partnership with Goldman Sachs. Designed to reflect a new method of measuring volatility the index is now based on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) for US equities. It estimates volatility by consolidating the weighted prices of puts and calls on the SPX. It has become a priceless tool for participants looking to track market volatility and for those trying to understand investor sentiment in times of market stress.

The need for such tools has been exacerbated in the last few years thanks to several major unprecedented market events, not least the global pandemic and the new ‘black Monday’ seen on 9 March 2020.

16. Portfolio trading

Next up is portfolio trading. The concept is heavily linked to ETFs and is not dissimilar from program trading in that it allows for the trading of a basket of stocks. Portfolio trades allow traders to execute a basket of stocks in one single transaction, minimising costs and allowing traders to bundle less liquid or more difficult to trade instruments in with more liquid transactions. The concept has exploded in the last few years, egged on by market conditions and volatility brought on by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors.

Electronically, it is a relatively new phenomenon to the last four to five years, and the protocol has gained momentum alongside other forms of electronic trading that differ from request for quote (RFQ) protocols on multi-dealer platforms, as participants look to minimise their market impact and avoid information leakage. Manually, however, the practice has existed for many decades using a laborious process involving excel spreadsheets and phone calls. Portfolio trades have historically helped many institutions to move big blocks of risk.

The protocol appeals to the sell-side for several reasons, namely the fact that they can take a basket of securities and use them in other trades, special purpose vehicles (SPV) or, importantly, the exchange traded fund (ETF) create and redeem process.

17. Axe trading

The next innovation on The TRADE’s list is axe trading, which is based on… you guessed it, axes. Coined from the phrase ‘an axe to grind’ an axe shows a trader’s interest in buying or selling a specific security. Shown as a grid these tools are used by participants to indicate to their counterparties what they want and need to get done in a certain security so that they might go off and set about getting it done for them in the markets.

Outside of a chosen list of counterparties, traders will usually keep axes private as they indicate potential future moves and this information could be used by someone looking to front-run them in the markets. The process was one typically associated with just bonds but it has since expanded into different securities. Several vendors and platform providers have sought to launch new and innovative solutions that integrate dealer axe data into workflows in a bid to streamline the trading process. The concept has given birth to new platforms and vendors in the market with axe-led quoting and execution management systems (QEMS) at their core.

18. Conditional orders

Conditional orders do what they say on the tin. Many different order types exist under the umbrella of the word conditional but the general premise is, they are orders that will only be actioned or executed if certain conditions are met. Unlike a typical market order where it is placed into the market and the price is not guaranteed, conditional orders set out the parameters on how they should be filled from the get-go. This sometimes means they never get executed as the conditions are not met. They are particularly popular with the buy-side as they allow firms to access liquidity without committing to a trade. Traders can represent orders on multiple venues without running the risk of being executed in multiple different places.

Some of the most common include the ‘limit’ order which will only be filled at a specified price or better, a ‘contingent’ order which simultaneously executes two or more transactions on the back of each other, or a ‘stop’ order which orders the buying or selling of a stock one it reaches a certain price.

19. Actionable indication of interests (IOI)

An indication of interest (IOI) is a conditional and non-binding indication of a buyer’s interest in a security that is still in the underwriting stage. It’s a way of participants gauging available liquidity in the market without committing to placing an order. Sell-side firms will often pitch IOI liquidity to clients as a way of offering a natural other side. An actionable IOI takes this one step further, firming up an indication and offering the liquidity up in a click to trade format.

IOIs can be executed via a variety of workflows. Firms can submit an IOI to a venue seeking liquidity as a non-actionable IOI. When a match is found they can then firm up said IOI to make it actionable. Some EMS providers have integrated this workflow into their technology to streamline it further. Participants can access actionable IOI liquidity straight from their trading blotter within their EMS.  

20. Request for quote (RFQ) and request for market (RFM)

Our final innovation on the list is request for quote (RFQ) and the request for market (RFM) protocols. Both have revolutionised the way fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) traders operate in recent years. Both sit under a similar umbrella but other slightly different iterations of each other’s offerings. At the core of both is the idea of allowing fixed income traders to access multiple liquidity providers at once.

Given how bilateral fixed income trading has historically been and how sparse liquidity can be in different markets, the protocols allow participants to maximise their chances of finding the other side by sending out requests to trade to multiple people.

RFQ allows buy-side firms to send out a request for a price to multiple firms at once for the purchase or sale of a security. RFM is a slightly different concept and offers firms the chance to request a price for both the buy and sell so as not to give away the direction they intend to trade in. The idea being that firms can protect themselves from market impact by concealing this information from the rest of the market.

These are the 20 innovations we at The TRADE believe have shaped our community’s landscape most heavily in the last few decades.

Our industry is continuously shifting and innovating. Every year new trends and phenomena come to market intended to disrupt and improve the way that traders go about executing in the market. With continuously growing data sets and the prospect of artificial intelligence and greater automation being used on the trading desk in the near future, it’s likely this list could look very different in a few years’ time.

For more TRADE 20 lists visit thetradenews.com

The post The 20 greatest trading innovations appeared first on The TRADE.

Robert Allen, president of FMX Futures Exchange

Having opened on 23 September, the FMX Futures Exchange is the first US interest rate futures exchange to launch with a fully operational, globally connected trading system, allowing for potential capital savings driven by clearing partner LCH’s cross-margin capabilities.

BGC Group and ten global investment banks and market-making firms announced a partnership in April 2024 to create FMX Holdings which includes the exchange, as well as a spot foreign exchange platform, and a US cash treasuries platform.

“We are pleased ION connected to the FMX Futures Exchange. The combination of the FMX Futures Exchange with LCH will provide clients with choice, innovative execution technology, and potentially significant cross-margin capabilities,” said Robert Allen, president of FMX Futures Exchange.

ION supports FMX across its cleared derivatives front-, middle-, and back-office platforms, allowing banks and brokers using ION’s technology stack to offer clients advanced execution capabilities and clearing services on the new exchange from day one.

Read more: Fireside Friday with… ION’s Edoardo Pacenti

“The joint effort with FMX Futures Exchange demonstrates once again the effectiveness of ION’s front-to-back product strategy: the powerful combination of modern, integrated solutions across execution and clearing removes the technical barriers often hindering market readiness and participation,” said Francesco Margini, chief product officer for cleared derivatives at ION Markets.

The post ION connects to FMX Futures Exchange to bolster execution and post-trade clearing appeared first on The TRADE.

As one of the most anticipated awards of the year, the recognition is designed to celebrate those individuals who have made a significant impact on their own organisation and, equally, the industry externally, with a commitment to bettering and future proofing the markets for years to come. 

Shortlisted individuals are repeated contributors to discussion whether that be through panels, associations or schemes to support the next generation joining the financial services industry. 

Last year, Goldman Sachs’ chief operating officer for EMEA equity execution services Eleanor Beasley took home the Industry Person of the Year Award in a landslide victory. 

The winner will be decided by a live industry vote at The TRADE’s Leaders in Trading gala awards night on 7 November at The Savoy. Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted nominees! 

Industry Person of the Year 2024 shortlist: 

James Baugh, managing director, head of European market structure, TD Cowen

James Baugh is an industry stalwart, having worked in the financial markets for over 25 years. Over the course of his career, Baugh has become renowned as a trusted partner to clients and for leading positive change in the European equities marketplace. He is an active participant in discussions on key topics impacting the industry. His team provides opinions and insights into shifting regulation and market structure, illustrating how these changes directly affect day-to-day business. 

Baugh currently serves as managing director, head of European market structure at TD Cowen; a position he has held since August 2021. Since joining the firm, Baugh has been a key driving force behind the growth of the firm’s European agency equities execution business. He has also helped shape the firm’s liquidity strategy by guiding clients through the complexities of European equity markets.  

Before joining TD Cowen, Baugh spent five years at Citi as European head of market structure. This followed 11 years at London Stock Exchange as head of equity sales, where he led initiatives like Turquoise Plato Block Discovery.  

A graduate of Newcastle University, Baugh began his career as a commodity analyst before taking on various roles at Dow Jones, including managing their European power index business. 

During the span of his career, Baugh has also represented several top financial organisations both across various industry forums including AFME, Q15 and Sustainable Trading, and on the board of Turquoise as a non-executive director.

Kate Finlayson, managing director, FICC market structure and liquidity strategy, JP Morgan

Kate Finlayson has considerable experience in financial markets, boasting a 25-year career that spans equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities.  

She currently serves as global head of FICC market structure and liquidity strategy at JP Morgan, having joined the firm in 2017. As part of her role, Finlayson has helped establish the FICC market structure function at JP Morgan, which she has developed into a global business with an extensive scope and reach.  

Before joining JP Morgan, Finlayson spent 14 years at UBS, holding a variety of senior positions including her most recent stint as head of market structure and liquidity strategy. Prior to UBS, Finlayson worked at Goldman Sachs in equity capital markets and prime brokerage.  

At JP Morgan, Finlayson engages with clients on the impact of market structural developments and drivers of change. Finlayson and her team also provide critical insights on emerging execution trends, microstructural dynamics and policy initiatives shaping liquidity across global markets. Widely considered to be a thought leader in the industry and a market structure expert, her insights are increasingly in demand. 

Alongside her role at JP Morgan, Finlayson is a trustee on the board of directors for JP Morgan Chase Pension Plan Trustee Limited. She also has external roles on industry advisory committees, including the UK FCA’s Secondary Markets Advisory Committee as well as the EMEA and US Quorum 15 Fixed Income advisory boards.

Bianca Gould, head of equities and fixed income EMEA, markets, BNY

Bianca Gould has extensive experience spanning 20 years in the industry, holding several senior roles throughout her tenure. She is particularly dedicated to supporting junior talent across the market.  

Currently, she is head of fixed income and equities EMEA within the BNY Global Markets Trading division and also sits on the executive committee for Pershing Limited. 

As part of her role, Gould is also responsible for expanding BNY’s execution footprint across EMEA.  A critical part of this strategy includes the recent launch of the firm’s new EU desk, based in Dublin Ireland. The aim is to deliver integrated execution serviced to its clients and facilitate more efficient trading for EU-based clients across both fixed income and equity markets globally.

Prior to joining BNY, she was the co-head of equities electronic sales and trading EMEA for RBC Capital Markets. Before that, she worked at Redburn for 15 years, having made partner in 2009 and remained the youngest partner appointed to date until the removal of the programme after her departure.   

In recent times, Gould has taken part in the Moonwalk initiative – walking a marathon during the night – to raise money for Breast Cancer, a charity close to her heart.

Stéphane Malrait, managing director and global head of market structure and innovation for financial markets, ING Bank

Stéphane Malrait is a market structure oracle. As a familiar face at some of the most important industry events, he works closely with advocacy groups, policy makers and regulators to make real change across financial markets.

Malrait works tirelessly to drive positive change in trading and market structure in the capital market space, understanding the important role of continued technological developments. At present he is working on the implementation of financial regulations that will impact the clients trading activity and transform how trading floors operate.  

Currently he serves as managing director and global head of market structure and innovation for financial markets at ING Bank, leading the financial market innovation strategies within the firm and contributing to industry working groups as a representative of the bank.

Before joining ING in 2015, Malrait spent eight years at Société Générale, most recently working as global head of FIC eCommerce. He also previously worked at JP Morgan Chase for ten years, serving in different roles in global FX eCommerce business management and cross-asset eCommerce technology, based in London and New York.

Since 2005, he has been an active member of the ACI Financial Market Association and is also a key part of the ECB FX contact group and a board member of ICMA.

Simon McQuoid-Mason, head of equity product and quant research, SIX Swiss Exchange

Simon McQuoid-Mason is a consistent thought leader across the trading landscape, continually unpacking the latest industry trends and sharing key insight on industry panels, important forums, and via insightful interviews.

McQuoid-Mason is currently head of equity product and quant research at SIX Swiss Exchange, having joined in 2020 as head of equity product for UK and Ireland. In his role, he is responsible for driving the evolution of SIX’s equity markets offering, including SwissAtMid and is also the lead author of SIX’s Trading InfoSnack series, a thought-provoking analytics series on market micro-structure and trading dynamics.   

He also serves as the current non-executive chair of the assets for the Te Aupōuri iwi, a Māori tribe from the far north of New Zealand, from who he descends. 

In addition, his past roles include stints at Bank of Queensland, the London Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley and Emerge Capital Partners.   

A proponent of a pragmatic approach to the various trading areas, McQuoid-Mason consistently advocates for a rethink in terms of how key industry challenges are addressed, with a particular focus on ensuring policy makers and the wider public understand the benefits of thriving equity markets and overall reducing market complexity.

The post Leaders in Trading 2024: Industry Person of the Year shortlist revealed appeared first on The TRADE.

Sean Hoover

The offering – already available in the US and Canada – will give clients access to EU shares on Nasdaq Europe. 

Speaking to the TRADE earlier this year, Sean Hoover, PureStream chief operating officer, said: “Subscribers and clients have both made it clear that the unique value of streaming in the US is something that they would welcome in Europe.

“We are excited about our partnership with Nasdaq, who has publicly announced its intent to roll out our streaming order types in Europe later this year, subject to the necessary approvals.”

Specifically, PureStream enables access to latent algorithmic liquidity using liquidity transfer rates – all in line with the volume goal of each strategy. 

Currently, Nasdaq is the only venue in Europe offering this. There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the race for first mover advantage in Europe’s emerging crossing network landscape in recent times.  Despite low European volumes, these venues offer increased choice and competition for institutional investors looking to achieve more effective outcomes.

Several European exchanges are underway with plans to bring out offerings of this ilk throughout the course of the year, The TRADE understands, while some other US alternative trading systems (ATS) – as well as PureStream – are also preparing to make the crossing over the Atlantic.

Within Europe there have been some significant moves rumoured. Talk of Aquis launching a new TWAP and VWAP trajectory crossing capability this year has been widespread, while Cboe has confirmed plans for the launch of its new volume weighted average price (VWAP) crossing service for equities at the end of this year.

Read more: Cboe BIDS VWAP-X: Introducing venue-based trajectory crossing to Europe

The tool uses open-ended liquidity transfer rates to substantially improve the process of price and liquidity discovery – minimising institutional investors’ market impact. 

PureStream’s solution is aimed at helping both the buy- and sell-side when executing long-term trajectory orders – pairing trading interests in open-ended streaming batches, meaning traders do not need to rely only on sourcing liquidity on a single point-in-time basis. 

Read more: PureStream: The disruptor venue determined to make waves in the institutional liquidity landscape

Nikolaj Kosakewitsch, senior vice president and head of European equities and derivatives at Nasdaq, said: “This launch underscores our commitment to offering world-class platforms that support the evolving needs of the global capital markets. PureStream on Nasdaq Europe will provide greater choice of trade execution mechanisms to our clients and help institutional investors navigate the European trading landscape.”

The post Nasdaq to launch PureStream in Europe early next year appeared first on The TRADE.

The trading event of the year is set to return once again at The Savoy on 7 November, bringing together our industry for a glittering evening of celebration and jubilation.

Today we are announcing our survey awards, bestowed on the back of a record number of responses to the TRADE’s Algorithmic Trading and Execution Management Surveys for 2024.

Alongside these, The TRADE is excited to reveal the Editors’ Choice Awards for 2024, recognising excellence from all corners of the capital markets industry, including exchanges, trading venues, technology and data vendor services and more.

Buy-side, Industry Person of the Year and Innovation Awards will follow in the coming weeks.

A huge congratulations to all of our shortlisted nominees, see you in November! 

Algorithmic Trading Awards shortlists:

Best Trading Performance

Berenberg

BNP Paribas

Jefferies

Redburn Atlantic

Best Access to Market

Berenberg

BNP Paribas

Redburn Atlantic

Virtu Financial

Best Price Improvement Capabilities

Berenberg

BNP Paribas

Citi

Redburn Atlantic

Best Client Service

Berenberg

Jefferies

Redburn Atlantic

Stifel Europe

Best Dark Pool Capabilities

Berenberg

Jefferies

Redburn Atlantic

Virtu Financial

Best User Experience – Large Clients

Citi

Goldman Sachs

Morgan Stanley

UBS

Best Provider – Hedge Funds

BNP Paribas

Citi

Jefferies

RBC Capital Markets

Best Provider – Multi-User Clients

Citi

Goldman Sachs

Jefferies

Morgan Stanley

Best Provider – Large Clients

Citi

Goldman Sachs

JP Morgan

UBS

Execution Management Systems Awards shortlists:

Best Market Access

LSEG TORA

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Platform Reliability

LSEG TORA

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best User Experience

LSEG TORA

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Multi-Asset Capabilities

FactSet’s Portware

LSEG TORA

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Provider – Large Clients

FactSet’s Portware

FlexTrade

Instinet Newport

Virtu Triton

Best Provider – UK & Europe

Charles River

FlexTrade

TS Imagine TradeSmart

Virtu Triton

Editors’ Choice Awards shortlists:

Outstanding Exchange Group

Cboe Europe

Deutsche Börse

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)

SIX Group

Outstanding Dark Trading Venue

Liquidnet

POSIT – Virtu Financial

SwissAtMid

Sigma X – Goldman Sachs

Outstanding Fixed Income Trading Venue

Bloomberg

ICE BondPoint

MarketAxess

Tradeweb

Outstanding FX Trading Venue

Bloomberg FXGO

FXall

LMAX Exchange 

SGX FX Systems

Outstanding Derivatives Trading Venue

Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX)

EBS UK MTF – CME Group

Eurex

Euronext

Block Trading Venue of the Year

BlockMatch – Instinet

Cboe BIDS Europe

Liquidnet

Luminex

Clearing House of the Year

Cboe Clear Europe

Euronext Clearing

ICE Clear Europe

LCH

TCA Provider of the Year

BestX

IHS Markit – S&P Global

ISS LiquidMetrix

Virtu Financial

Outstanding Market Data Services Provider – Equities

big xyt

Deutsche Börse Xetra

FactSet

LSEG Data & Analytics

Outstanding Market Data Services Provider – Fixed income

AxeTrading

BondCliQ

Neptune Networks

Tradefeedr

Outstanding Non-Bank Liquidity Provider

DRW

Hudson River Trading

Optiver

XTX Markets

Outstanding Trading Technology Provider

360T

Edgewater Markets

FlexTrade

Trading Technologies

Sell-Side Market Structure Excellence

Anish Puaar, head of European equity market structure, Optiver

Hayley McDowell, EU equity electronic sales trader and EU market structure consultant, RBC Capital Markets

John Fruen, head of EMEA market structure and liquidity strategy, UBS

Belinda Mar, equities, market structure and product development, Bank of America

The post The TRADE announces Leaders in Trading awards shortlists for London event appeared first on The TRADE.

The transaction remains subject to closing conditions and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter.

Amongst the new technology acquired by LSEG is Axoni’s Veris network, a post-trade lifecycle and reconciliation management platform for equity swaps that launched in 2020.

Veris streamlines the post-trade data reconciliation process and prevents cash flow breaks by enabling counterparties to share data associated with equity swap deals, positions, trades, and related cash flows, Axoni said.

Following the transaction, LSEG will own and operate the Veris network after a transition period.

“This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our efforts to modernise OTC derivative post-trade infrastructure,” said Greg Schvey, chief executive at Axoni.

“In recent years, we’ve partnered closely with LSEG to develop our trade processing applications and are confident they are the right party to help realise its growth potential.”

The deal follows LSEG’s acquisition of Acadia in 2022 in a bid to build out its multi-asset post-trade capabilities. Acadia provides risk management, margining and collateral services for the uncleared derivatives markets. LSEG had held a minority stake in the firm since 2018.

In the same year, the exchange group also received regulatory approval for its Quantile acquisition, also building out its post-trade division.

The post LSEG acquires Axoni post-trade technology appeared first on The TRADE.

The new exchange will bring IEX’s suite of order protection innovations to better meet the demands of market makers.

“We are focused on understanding the challenges of our members and having discussions with market participants to guide our entry into the options market,” said Bryan Harkins, president at IEX.

“IEX’s experience and expertise in understanding the needs of liquidity providers provides a great foundation as we begin to offer options market makers a set of tools designed to drive performance.”

The proposed options exchange will be an electronic venue, offering access to the full multi-listed options market while relying on a pro-rata model.

The development will be the first time that IEX’s proprietary solutions for risk management and markout optimisation will be available for US options trading, building on top of its equities offering.

“IEX spent the last decade innovating to build technology that is designed to protect liquidity providers, and we have now added a team of leaders with deep multi-asset expertise that can help guide IEX through our next stage of growth,” said Brad Katsuyama, founder and chief executive at IEX. 

“We have been encouraged by the conversations this team has had with market makers about moving into the options market which underscores the opportunity for us to deepen our relationships with clients and to further improve execution quality in US markets by expanding into options.”

The launch follows IEX’s announcement of several key leadership appointments earlier this year, including the addition of Harkins as president and John Palmer to lead the firm’s efforts in building out its offerings and technology to serve new markets.

Palmer will serve as head of options and lead the new exchange. He will continue reporting to Harkins, who will oversee both IEX’s equities exchange and the new options exchange.

IEX has also appointed Ivan Brown, who will play a key role in the firm’s plans to bring a highly differentiated trading venue to the options market. Brown will lead business development and product design for the new options exchange. 

He joins IEX after 15 years in financial markets leadership positions at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), most recently having served as head of options and business development.

“Bryan, John, and Ivan are proven operators who have built successful trading platforms across asset classes,” asserted Ronan Ryan, co-founder and chief operating officer at IEX. 

“We are committed to bringing together the best people in the trading industry to disrupt the status quo in options trading with a unique market architecture, highly differentiated products, and deep commitment to client relationships.”

IEX stated that it plans to work closely with options industry participants to address the unique risk management-related challenges that currently exist in the options market, adding that it will require minimal effort for current members of its equities exchange to be onboarded to this new venue.

The post IEX Group to launch its first options exchange appeared first on The TRADE.

Backed by the likes of Bank of America, Barclays, Citadel Securities, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Jump Trading Group, Morgan Stanley, Tower Research Capital, and Wells Fargo the new venue is set to go live on 23 September.

The new venue is intending to rival the behemoths that dominate the futures trading venue sphere, namely CME Group, ICE, and Cboe global Markets. It will initially only support SOFR futures trading with plans to add US Treasury futures in the first quarter of next year.

The venue has confirmed a clearing partnership with LCH ahead of launch, offering an integrated clearing and trading offering. The exchange received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to operate as an exchange for US Treasury and SOFR futures in January.

“LCH has $225 billion of interest rate swap collateral securing its interest rate swaps, against which LCH members expect to cross margin eligible US interest rate futures traded on FMX Futures Exchange,” said BGC in its release.

FMX Futures Exchange is built off BGC Group’s marketplace Fenics Markets Xchange (FMX) which is launched in 2021 with the aim of allowing participants to trade US rates cash and futures electronically.

The marketplace combined BGC’s low latency electronic trading platform for US treasuries, Fenics UST, and FMX US futures trading on one platform.

The post BGC new futures exchange to launch later this month appeared first on The TRADE.

“Our inaugural New York-based event is set to take place on 19 November at Chelsea Piers and we couldn’t be more excited to be bringing the magic of Leaders in Trading over to the US for the first time in The TRADE’s 20-year history,” said The TRADE’s editor Annabel Smith.

Today we are announcing our survey awards, bestowed on the back of a record number of responses to the TRADE’s Algorithmic Trading, Execution Management and Outsourced Trading Surveys for 2024.

Alongside these, The TRADE is excited to reveal the Editors’ Choice Awards for 2024, recognising excellence from all corners of the capital markets industry, including exchanges, trading venues, technology and data vendor services and more.

So, without further a due, it gives The TRADE great pleasure to announce the following awards shortlists for Leaders in Trading New York 2024!

Algorithmic Trading Awards shortlists:

Best Trading Performance

Berenberg

Jefferies

RBC Capital Markets

UBS

Best Price Improvement Capabilities

BofA Securities

Liquidnet

RBC Capital Markets

Virtu Financial

Best Customer Support & Consulting

BofA Securities

Instinet

RBC Capital Markets

Virtu Financial

Best Dark Pool Capabilities

Goldman Sachs

Liquidnet

RBC Capital Markets

Virtu Financial

Best Provider – Large Clients

Jefferies

JP Morgan

Liquidnet

UBS

Best Provider – Multi-User Clients

Jefferies

JP Morgan

Morgan Stanley

UBS

Best Provider

BofA Securities

Goldman Sachs

RBC Capital Markets

Virtu Financial

Execution Management Systems Awards shortlists:

Best Market Access

FlexTrade

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Platform Reliability

FlexTrade

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best User Experience

FlexTrade

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Product Adaptability

FlexTrade

Instinet Newport

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Multi-Asset Capabilities

Bloomberg

FlexTrade

Neovest

Virtu Triton

Best Provider – Large Clients

Bloomberg

Charles River

Instinet Newport

Virtu Triton

Outsourced Trading Awards shortlists:

Outsourced Trading Provider of the Year

CAPIS

JonesTrading

Meraki

StoneX

Coverage

CAPIS

JonesTrading

Meraki

StoneX

Execution

CAPIS

Marex

Meraki

StoneX

Operations and Post-Trade

CAPIS

JonesTrading

Marex

State Street

Client Service and Relationship Management

CAPIS

Marex

Meraki

StoneX

Editors’ Choice Awards shortlists:

Outstanding Exchange Group

Cboe Global Markets

Investors Exchange (IEX)

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

Nasdaq

Outstanding Fixed Income Trading Venue

Bloomberg

BrokerTec, CME Group

MarketAxess

Tradeweb Markets

Outstanding Futures and Options Trading Venue

Cboe Global Markets

CME Group

 Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

Miami International Securities Exchange (MIAX)

Crossing Network of the Year

IntelligentCross

LeveL ATS

OneChronos

PureStream

Outstanding Post-Trade Services Provider

Baton Systems

Broadridge

S&P Global

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)

TCA Provider of the Year

Abel Noser Solutions

FactSet

OneTick

Virtu Financial

Outstanding Market Data Services Provider – Equities

BMLL

Exegy

FactSet

QUODD Financial

Outstanding Market Data Services Provider – Fixed Income

Bloomberg

ICE Data Services

MarketAxess

S&P Global Market Intelligence

Outstanding Innovation in Fixed Income

Bondway.ai

Investortools

OpenYield

Trumid

Outstanding Trading Technology Provider

Aladdin by BlackRock

Bloomberg

Charles River

SS&C Moxy

Sell-side Market Structure Excellence

Citi – Michael Masone, director and head of North America market structure

Jefferies – Anthony Pallone, managing director

Morgan Stanley – Sapna Patel, head of Americas market structure and liquidity strategy

Rosenblatt Securities – Justin Schack, managing director and partner

Agency Broker of the Year

BTIG

Cantor Fitzgerald

Instinet

Redburn Atlantic

Congratulations to all of our shortlisted nominees. Winners will be announced on 19 November at Leaders in Trading New York.

Please contact Patrick Wright at patrick.wright@thetradenews.com for sponsorship opportunities or to book a table for Leaders in Trading New York.

The post The TRADE announces Leaders in Trading New York awards shortlists appeared first on The TRADE.