FIX updates FAST Protocol

FIX Protocol Ltd (FPL), developer of the FIX financial messaging standard, has launched version 1.2 of FIX Adapted for Streaming (FAST) Protocol, its data compression standard.

The new version improves the ability to use FIX with FAST, specifically with regard to enumerations, time stamps and boolean data types. The improvements in the new version have been developed to be fully compatible with FAST version 1.1. According to FPL, the enhancements allow for greater efficiency gains.

The FAST Protocol was developed in response to increasing electronic trading volumes and market data messaging rates. FAST uses techniques such as implicit tagging, field encoding and binary representation of data to reduce message sizes, therefore cutting bandwidth requirements and latency.

Chi-X fees a tenth of European incumbents’ – TowerGroup

Chi-X, a pan-European multilateral trading facility, will continue to siphon liquidity from exchanges because of its low transaction costs – up to a tenth of those charged by the incumbents – according to a new study from research and advisory firm TowerGroup.

The study compared Chi-X’s explicit and implicit trading costs with those of the London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse in both high- and low-volume scenarios from October 2006 to October 2008. All three domestic exchanges combined account for roughly 70% of total European equity trading.

TowerGroup found that in a high-volume scenario, where trading volumes were 500,000 trades a month, worth a total of worth EUR 5 billion, executed on a 50/50 passive/active ratio and with an average trade size of EUR 10,000, the total explicit costs of trading on Chi-X were EUR 50,000, less than a fifth of the LSE’s EUR 258,001 and around a tenth of Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext’s costs of EUR 525,000 and EUR 497,500 respectively. Explicit costs include trading and clearing fees.

nstinet to launch new US dark pool within two months

Instinet, a global agency broker, is scheduled to release a new dark pool in the US within the next two months.

BLX is expected to be a block-only venue which will complement CBX, Instinet’s existing US dark pool. CBX passively exposes orders to Instinet’s US order flow and allows access to its liquidity via algorithms.

In addition to CBX in the US, Instinet also operates JapanCross, KoreaCross and CBX in Asia, as well as BlockMatch, a European non-displayed venue, which does not allow flow from investment banks’ proprietary trading desks and lets clients decide whether or not to display their intentions.

BofA names execution team following Merrill takeover

Bank of America, an investment bank, has named the executives that will run the combined execution team created by the merger with global broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, which it bought last September.

Roger Anerella, head of global execution services, will lead the team. Ashok Krishnan retains responsibility for EMEA execution services and Michael Lynch will lead execution services for Americas, including commission management and NYSE specialists. Jon Werts will manage the firm’s broker-dealer execution services, futures and Instaquote, a direct market access application from Bank of America. Werts will also report to Sylvan Chackman, co-head of global markets financing and futures.

Chi-X Europe CEO to step down

Peter Randall has decided to step down as CEO of pan-European multilateral trading facility (MTF) Chi-X Europe for personal reasons. The company plans to announce a successor in the next few weeks, although it is unclear whether the company is searching internally or externally for Randall’s replacement.

TheTRADEnews.com understands that Randall, who has been involved in Chi-X Europe from its inception in 2005 and played an instrumental role in building and promoting the platform, now wants to take a step back to spend more time with his family. Discussions have taken place with the intention of Randall continuing to support the MTF, most likely in an advisory role.

Pipeline launches buy-side block trading system

Pipeline Trading Systems, a US block trading venue, has unveiled PowerPlay, an equities block-trading execution system for buy-side traders who want to execute large orders in volatile and fragmented markets.

PowerPlay gives traders access to a combination of proprietary technologies, which allow them to control simultaneous execution of multiple large orders from a single window.

According to Pipeline, PowerPlay will allow traders to minimise information leakage that results from small, probing executions. The platform will use Pipeline’s new Contra Targeting encryption technology, due to be launched in March, which allows traders to find natural matches to large trades by using information from the order management systems of other buy-side traders on the platform.