Located in Montréal, TradingScreen Electronic Financial Solutions will further expand the firm’s existing technology development and operations capacities leveraging the “large and growing talent pool” of the city, according to a statement from the vendor.

TradingScreen’s Montreal operations will work in cooperation with its existing development teams in New York, London and Tokyo, and the vendor stated it anticipates that it will become a key location for its global development and technology operations in the future.

“After careful consideration, we selected Montréal for expansion given the breadth and quality of its human capital in the computer software and information systems development area as well as its strategic proximity to TradingScreen’s principal executive offices in New York, in a jurisdiction where the government is committed to attracting and incentivising technology companies such as ours. We see great opportunities for TradingScreen here,” said Pierre Schroeder, chief executive officer of TradingScreen.  

TradingScreen joined forces with SimCorp in October 2017 to launch its combined order and execution management system (OEMS) for the buy-side globally, with the aim of simplifying the workflow in the front office for institutional investors by integrating multiple execution platforms on one service across asset classes. 

In October last year, TradingScreen integrated pre-trade analytics from ITG into its OEMS workflow, to help traders manage order flow, as well as anticipate and mitigate execution risk.

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The study of ETF sales in the first half of 2016, following on from a record breaking sales year in 2015, found Canadian ETFs saw CAD$10.6 billion in net creations.

As a result of the growing popularity of the asset class a number of buy-side firms in Canada have expanded their offerings. In 2016, TD Asset Management re-entered the ETF space with a suite of passively-managed products, while mutual fund company Mackenzie Investments has launched six ETFs this year alone.

Major US players are also getting into the Canadian market, with WisdonTree Investments launching six ETFs north of the border. Investor Economics research suggests several more are currently on the drawing board and are expected to launch soon.

Retail investor interest has been a key factor in the growth of the asset class in Canada, with almost approximately CAD$34.2 billion invested. They have also gained traction as an underlying investment of open-end mutual funds.

To download a full copy of the report visit the Asset International store.

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Incumbent stock exchanges have a responsibility to share more data to attract investors, protect liquidity and stimulate competition, according to the CEO of a Canadian exchange.

Speaking to The TRADE, Jos Schmitt, president and CEO of Aequitas, said some exchanges have been guilty of operating a “monopolistic” data policy which could be detrimental to their own business models.

Schmitt’s words come after Aequitas launched an official complaint with the Competition Bureau of Canada, accusing TMX of anti-competitive practices and dominating the pricing of market data in Canadian capital markets.

He said: “If you don’t make data about your product and your service widely available, people will be looking at it less and less and you will lose investors.

“Non-domestic investors and capital raising companies will be saying ‘I don’t get the brokers’ exposure that I should get for my product’ and this will negatively impact liquidity and, in the long-term, their whole business.

“Waiting for any regulatory initiatives to take effect before changing the model may be even more detrimental.”

In a white paper, Aequitas proposed a solution for the Canadian market entitled Aequitas CMV Connect, which aims to use investment dealers’ private market data, including order and trade information from investment dealers based on their activity, to produce a consolidated market view (CMV).

In addressing this issue Schmitt expressed a desire for regulators to step in to create a fairer trading environment.

“Securities regulators should step in as looking from an investors perspective, we don’t have an environment that allows traders to achieve their objectives.

“We know there are other types of solutions that can be put in place as was the case in the US a few years ago when multiple markets emerged, regulators put in place a mechanism to manage the situation.

“They may not be perfect but the data is unrestricted and publically listed companies in the US can now benefit from best possible exposure.”

When contacted by The Trade for a response to Aequitas’ initial complaint TMX issued the following statement:

‘TMX operates within applicable laws and we are confident that we fulfil our role within the regulatory framework in Canada that ensures all investors, including retail, receive best execution.

“We charge competitively for market data, commensurate with the value of the products and services TMX provides to clients.”

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The Canadian stock exchange operator has alleged that TMX is holding a monopoly over the market to retain control over the pricing of market data in the Canadian capital markets.

It is also alleged that the prohibitive cost of data is negatively impacting Canadian investors and creating negative perceptions about liquidity and transparency.

“In the area of market data, we believe the TMX has remained, in effect, an unfettered monopoly, leveraging its market power to charge prohibitive and monopolistic prices,” stated Jos Schmitt, President and CEO of Aequitas. 

“Excessive market data fees have left Canadian investment dealers with no choice but to restrict the market data access given to their investment advisors and to their retail clients.”

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