Injection Search Web
Custom Search
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
ITG launches new algo to tackle volatile markets
Agency broker and technology firm Investment Technology Group (ITG) has launched Raider, an execution algorithm for the US market that is designed to quickly seize opportunities in fast-moving markets.
Raider simultaneously accesses both lit and dark venues, including ITG’s own POSIT Marketplace, which combines flow from the firm’s POSIT Now and POSIT Match crossing engines, the ITG Dark Algorithm and external pools. As the algorithm does not post orders on the lit venues, they remain completely hidden.
Instead of using a benchmark, Raider identifies attractive spreads, executes quickly to capture them and then pulls back as the liquidity dries up and the spread widens again. The algorithm also allows users to specify the urgency of the trade, so its behaviour ranges from stealthy to aggressive.
UK unbundling regime moving market in right direction - FSA
The UK regime governing dealing commissions has helped cut commission rates, limited use of commissions to the purchase of execution and research services and encouraged greater separation in how these services are bought, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said.
In a review of the framework for buy-side use of dealing commissions introduced in 2006, the UK regulator claimed that benefits had been “clearly delivered” to the market, adding that the “expected changes were occurring and that the market was moving towards delivering the intended outcomes”.
The FSA report noted that use of commission sharing agreements (CSAs) had increased, with 70% of investment managers using CSAs compared with 50% in 2005. It also found that commission expenditure is now “overwhelmingly” used to pay for research services rather than execution-related services. Commissions have declined since the introduction of the new rules, the report found, in line with expectations that greater transparency would exert downward pressure on pricing, but the FSA acknowledged that the trend toward lower commission rates was established before the regime was introduced. Management fees were found to have fallen between 2006 and 2007 for actively managed funds while charges for passively managed funds increased slightly.
Cheuvreux to complete crossing engine roll-out in Q2
French broking house CA Cheuvreux is planning to finalise the roll-out of its Blink internal crossing engine for European equities by the end of Q2, following its launch at the beginning of this year.
"Blink has been live in a fairly limited environment, but we are extending it regularly,” Philippe Guillot, global head of trading and execution at Cheuvreux, told theTRADEnews.com. “We are adding customers, markets and securities. It is really about expanding the breadth and depth of liquidity coming into the engine.”
Blink crosses child-level orders from a variety of order flow types coming into Cheuvreux. This includes retail and institutional buy-side, sell-side, algorithmic, program trading and direct market access flow.
Orders entering Blink are duplicated and sent on to displayed exchanges. If an order crosses with another order in Blink, the system either cancels or revises the order in the lit venue to account for the amount matched internally.
European buy-side cuts dependence on sales traders – TABB
Twelve percent of European buy-side traders have shifted equities order flow away from brokers’ sales-traders to more self-directed, low-touch execution methods such as direct market access, algorithms and non-displayed multilateral trading facilities, according to a new study from research and consulting firm TABB Group.
According to the study, ‘European Equity Trading 2009: Counterparties, Capital and Control', the shift away from sales traders has taken place amid falling liquidity and a dearth of broker risk capital, as well as a rapidly changing market structure in Europe. The study was based on conversations with 53 buy-side traders dealing European equities in 12 major European Union countries.
DTCC makes second hire in bid to woo trading community
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the US’s central clearing provider, has appointed Daniel G. Faryniarz, a former Merrill Lynch executive with experience in fixed income and derivatives sales, to the newly-created position of managing director, market structure and industry relations.
In his new role, Faryniarz will help lead DTCC’s efforts to identify and develop new market opportunities in the front-office and trading communities. His appointment closely follows the announcement of DTCC’s hiring of Robert Hegarty, formerly of research and consulting firm TowerGroup, to a similar position at the end of March. Like Hegarty, Faryniarz will report to James Leonard, DTCC’s managing director of strategy and marketing.
MTFs detail schedules for single stock code migration
Chi-X Europe, the pan-European multilateral trading facility (MTF) owned by agency brokerage Instinet, has revealed its timeline for migrating to the uniform stock symbology agreed on by a group of European trading platforms.
Trading participants and data vendors will be able to engage in order entry and market data testing for the new stock codes on Chi-X from today, and full adoption of the symbology is scheduled for 11 May. From this date, the new codes will run in parallel with the current symbology, before a full switchover on 30 October 2009.
Meanwhile, broker-backed MTF Turquoise has delayed its migration to uniform stock codes from the end of this month until June.
French broker to use Chi-Tech trading platform
Oddo & Cie, a Paris-based independent agency brokerage, has implemented MarketPrizm, a trading infrastructure platform provided by Chi-X Global Technology (Chi-Tech), the technology services unit of trading venue operator Chi-X Global.
MarketPrizm is an application service provider-based algorithmic trading infrastructure for brokerage firms. The implementation of the platform at Oddo & Cie provides the broker with inbound market data for selected markets, while trading technology firm Quod Financial, which Chi-Tech partnered with on the project, will supply the direct market access and smart order routing functionality. Chi-Tech also provides maintenance and operations support.
“MiFID has resulted in the need for brokers to provide new trading capabilities in order to remain competitive,” said Tarak Achiche, chief operating officer at Oddo & Cie, in a statement. “After an extensive search to find a technology partner that could help us meet our needs, we selected Chi-Tech’s MarketPrizm solution because, among other things, it enables us to efficiently and affordably manage our algo trading processes while helping our clients meet their best execution requirements.”
Apama to help CBA tackle Australia fragmentation
Progress Apama, the algorithmic trading division of Progress Software, has implemented its complex event processing (CEP) platform for equity execution at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
By using the CEP platform, CBA will have access to Apama’s algorithms, allowing the bank to automate select transactions. According to Apama, the installation of its platform will enable CBA to expand its coverage and process orders more efficiently in accordance with specific instructions or business rules, freeing up operators to focus on business requiring manual expertise.
“We worked with CBA and used their expertise to translate the logic they wanted to use and tweaked our algorithms specifically for the stock profiles and market characteristics of the Australian market,” Dr John Bates, Progress Apama’s founder and general manager, told theTRADEnews.com.
Chi-X unveils commodity trading plans
Chi-X Europe, the pan-European multilateral trading facility owned by agency brokerage Instinet, has announced its intention to start trading exchange traded commodities (ETCs) later this month.
From Monday 20 April, ETF Securities, an issuer of ETCs and exchange traded funds (ETFs), will make its ETFS physical gold and gold bullion securities available on Chi-X in both dollar and sterling currencies. Access to the products will be afforded by market segment. If a participant already has access to the Chi-X’s UK segment, they will also have access to the MTF’s UK ETCs.
SEC explores new US short-selling restrictions
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comment on whether it should impose price or so-called circuit-breaker restrictions on short-selling US equities.
The commission said it is re-evaluating the use of short-selling restrictions because of “extreme market conditions and the resulting deterioration of investor confidence”.
The SEC’s decision to consult on new short-selling rules follows calls from several market participants for increased controls on short-selling. In March, for example, the US’s three biggest exchange groups – NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX and BATS Exchange – wrote to SEC chairman Mary Schapiro proposing that a revised version of the uptick rule that was repealed in 2007 be used in conjunction with a circuit breaker that would take effect if a particular stock’s value dropped sharply. Uptick rules only permit short sales when stock prices are stable or rising.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Link Up Markets reports successful launch
Link Up Markets, the joint venture between eight European central securities depositories (CSDs), has announced the successful launch of its operations on 30 March.
The venture is designed to facilitate links between CSDs to improve efficiency and reduce costs of cross-border securities settlement in Europe.
Four national CSDs – Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (Germany), OeKB (Austria), SIX SIS (Switzerland) and VP (Denmark) established connections upon launch. Hellenic Exchanges (Greece) and Iberclear (Spain) will connect in June, followed by the Cyprus Stock Exchange (Cypus) and VPS (Norway) in Q4.
By connecting to the Link Up Markets infrastructure, each participating CSD will be able to access the services of the other linked CSDs. According to Link Up Markets, the eight CSDs involved settle 50% of European securities transactions and will significantly reduce the gap between domestic and cross-border costs for transactions.
Link Up Markets reports successful launch
Link Up Markets, the joint venture between eight European central securities depositories (CSDs), has announced the successful launch of its operations on 30 March.
The venture is designed to facilitate links between CSDs to improve efficiency and reduce costs of cross-border securities settlement in Europe.
Four national CSDs – Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (Germany), OeKB (Austria), SIX SIS (Switzerland) and VP (Denmark) established connections upon launch. Hellenic Exchanges (Greece) and Iberclear (Spain) will connect in June, followed by the Cyprus Stock Exchange (Cypus) and VPS (Norway) in Q4.
By connecting to the Link Up Markets infrastructure, each participating CSD will be able to access the services of the other linked CSDs. According to Link Up Markets, the eight CSDs involved settle 50% of European securities transactions and will significantly reduce the gap between domestic and cross-border costs for transactions.
Financial crisis scuppers LSE’s CFD plans
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has abandoned its plans to introduce contracts for difference (CFD) trading on its order book because of the current economic climate.
The exchange planned to offer a combined CFD and equity order book, where exchange-traded CFDs based on FTSE 100 equities that would trade with and alongside their underlying cash equities. This would, for example, allow investors to hedge their equity positions. Clearing services for the new offering were to be provided by the LSE’s incumbent clearing house, LCH.Clearnet.
The service was dependent on the contribution of several prime financing partners, which the LSE says were all leading financial houses, whose job it would have been to ensure CFD trades and underlying equity trades were matched seamlessly. However, due to the current economic climate and reduction in trading activity, the prime financing partners’ positions has now changed.
The exchange planned to offer a combined CFD and equity order book, where exchange-traded CFDs based on FTSE 100 equities that would trade with and alongside their underlying cash equities. This would, for example, allow investors to hedge their equity positions. Clearing services for the new offering were to be provided by the LSE’s incumbent clearing house, LCH.Clearnet.
The service was dependent on the contribution of several prime financing partners, which the LSE says were all leading financial houses, whose job it would have been to ensure CFD trades and underlying equity trades were matched seamlessly. However, due to the current economic climate and reduction in trading activity, the prime financing partners’ positions has now changed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
IP Address
Counter
Users
