ConvergEx Group’s LiquidPoint to source dark liquidity for options
ConvergEx Group, a global brokerage and trading-related services provider, expanded its LiquidPoint options technology business offering of multi-leg solutions to include the NXP Dark algorithm. This expansion will provide efficient price discovery on spreads and is intended to help find liquidity in fragmented markets.
Using the Dark algorithm, clients can act without potential market impact. Clients with multi-leg trading strategies can access LiquidPoint’s NXP dark pool with their originating order only going to market if a match is found within NXP. If liquidity is not found, the order immediately returns to the client as cancelled. NXP is an SECregistered alternative trading system for U.S. listed options.
“Since May 2013, our spread algorithm volume has nearly tripled,” said Anthony J. Saliba, CEO of LiquidPoint. “Customers are using complex orders more frequently to achieve their investment goals, and Dark’s multi-leg order capability delivers a powerful new dimension for their trades.”
LME launches testing platform for electronic trading strategies
The London Metal Exchange launched in March a real-time synthetic test environment for members and their clients. This new system, LMEstage, provides a simulated live market environment in which users can test their trading strategies. The system is immediately available to category one and two members and their clients, as well as independent software vendors.
“Existing testing methods generally involve back-testing using historical market data, while LMEstage provides higher confidence for users by producing a more accurate reflection of the real market,” said Robin Paine, the LME’s chief technology officer.
LMEstage enables clients to test their trading strategies and supporting systems in an environment that is similar to, but not identical to, the live market. LMEstage can also help firms demonstrate that their processes conform to the recommended testing practices set out in the European Securities and Markets Authority guidelines.
Trading Technologies unveils next-generation trading platform
Trading Technologies International, an independent high-performance trading software company, unveiled its new platform, called Nextrader, in March at the FIA International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Fla.
The new platform will become available in the second half of 2014. Nextrader’s low-latency computing infrastructure will remain at exchange co-located servers, while a cloud-based infrastructure will allow for greater accessibility and near-limitless computational capacity for users to analyze their trading activity in a fully-encrypted, secure manner.
This also represents the first time that TT will offer go-anywhere trading. The most powerful aspects of the platform, including the ability to monitor markets and manage orders and automated trading strategies, will be optimized for mobile devices. It will also offer end-users the ability to strategically shift which FCM clears an order.
“We are really excited to move forward with this platform for several reasons, perhaps the biggest being that the new open architecture on which it sits will significantly reduce the software development timeline going forward. This allows the freedom to iterate quickly, innovate often and remain nimble as our customers’ needs change,” said Stefani Sandow, TT product manager.
KVH provides faster routes from Asia to CME
KVH, an Asia Pacific information technology and data center services provider, launched improved ultra-low latency routes to CME Group from Tokyo and Singapore. The routes became available on March 31 and offer service level agreement-backed latency between the CME data center in Aurora, Illinois and hubs in Tokyo and Singapore.
This fully secured Ethernet private line service enables domestic and international market participants to have ultra-low latency access to financial markets in Japan, Singapore and the U.S. It can also be used by other industry sectors requiring dedicated bandwidth, high security and low latency Ethernet services.
“KVH is committed to providing the fastest routes in the industry to meet the needs of financial customers pursuing high frequency trading strategies,” said Machifumi Kashiwagi, vice president, product management at KVH.
JSE launches colocation center
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange on May 12 launched a colocation center, reducing roundtrip latency for clients who place their trading equipment in the JSE colocation facility to 150 microseconds compared to the existing 2550 microseconds.
“Clients demand faster execution speeds and exchanges need to offer these in order to compete. Aside from faster trading speeds and updates to market data which will allow for enhanced response to market movements and deployment of new trading strategies, colocation also reduces the cost of bandwidth for clients. It also improves trading resilience as clients are in the JSE’s data center and reduces clients’ dependence on network providers,” said Leanne Parsons, director, equity markets at the JSE.
The colocation center will initially provide space, power, cooling and physical security for 35 hosting units for clients’ computers.
trueEX processes over $100 billion of bunched order allocations
trueEX, a U.S. trading venue for swaps, announced that it had processed over $100 billion in bunched order allocations as of March 25. This was made possible by trueEX’s post-trade services platform, which is open to any execution venue or clearinghouse and enables FCMs and clients to allocate orders post-trade. The PTS platform enables the buy-side community to comply with the regulatory trading mandate for swaps.
Since the beginning of February, the bunched trades have been cleared by Credit Suisse Securities as the futures commission merchant and LCH.Clearnet’s SwapClear clearing service. There are an additional two FCMs in the final stages of testing and certification with trueEX.
The PTS platform allows buy-side clients and their FCMs to directly allocate executed and cleared bunched order trades to a client’s respective sub-accounts at the clearinghouses. The platform offers a direct connection to the major clearinghouses and can process allocations from any execution venue while providing real-time updates on the allocation status.
"By providing a fully-integrated and agnostic solution to the challenge of bunched order allocations, we are responding to an immediate and pressing need from the buy-side community,” said Sunil Hirani, CEO and co-founder of trueEX.
CBOE Futures Exchange announces self-trade prevention technology
CBOE Futures Exchange began offering a self-trade prevention mechanism on April 7. CBOE is the latest exchange to develop such a mechanism, which is designed to prevent accidental violations of wash sale rules.
The STP mechanism applies to simple and spread orders and quotes and applies to all CFE products and trading sessions. The mechanism offers several options for preventing two orders from the same firm from matching, including cancelling the incoming order, cancelling the resting order or cancelling both.
The exchange said that although firms are not required to use the STP mechanism, failure to use it will be deemed “an aggravating factor” if the firms are found to have engaged in wash trading that otherwise would have been prevented.
HKEx expands after-hours futures trading offering
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited expanded trading in Mini-Hang Seng Index and Mini H-shares Index Futures in afterhours trading as well as renminbi currency futures.
In addition to these offerings, HKEx plans to add the CES China 120 Index futures to AHFT later this year. Launch dates will be announced after market readiness has been determined.
With the Asia-Pacific economy rapidly expanding onto the global stage, HKEx is assessing the feasibility of extending the AHFT to around midnight in order to cover a greater portion of U.S. trading hours.
Perseus announces new wireless trading routes in London
Perseus Telecom, a global high-speed connectivity provider, announced four wireless routes in London that are now available for trading with Perseus. The firm exclusively owns three of the four routes and recently closed an acquisition of wireless and market data in the U.S. for CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange in Chicago.
As the demand for faster trading capabilities continues to grow, Perseus plans to deliver high-speed connectivity but to also have safety nets for risk prevention. They utilize an ultra-low latency fiber as a back up to all microwave access contracted customers. Jock Percy, chief executive of Perseus, said that customers dictate the industry norm for technology and risk control and that “delivering seamless wireless trading solutions is in direct response to this norm expectation.”
