hedge funds Archives - The Industry Spread

Market Synergy Goes Live with Institutional Calibre Cryptocurrency Connectivity to Bitfinex

January 11, 2019 by Nikolas Papas Leave a Comment Filed Under: Company News, Industry News Tagged: Bitfinex, Brokers, cryptocurrency connectivity, digital assets, hedge funds, James Banister, Market Synergy, Paolo Ardoino, trading platform

Brokers and hedge funds wanting to offer digital assets to their client base can now partner with Market Synergy for institutional standard cryptocurrency connectivity and security and take a FIX feed or ISP link to Bitfinex’s digital asset gateway.

Bitfinex is the world’s leading cryptocurrency trading platform founded in 2012, known for pioneering the most sophisticated trading experience in the market. This landmark innovation now enables institutional firms and professional traders to connect to Bitfinex through Market Synergy, providing best in market performance through low latency and robust connectivity. This also creates a significant opportunity for institutional clients who are looking to diversify their offering with digital asset trading.

As announced in July 2018, Swiss-based Market Synergy was selected to design and build a bespoke network for Bitfinex. Following extensive planning and development, the combined offering from Market Synergy and Bitfinex will go live today after scheduled downtime necessary to complete the data migration. Market Synergy’s infrastructure, which is hosted in a Swiss data centre in the heart of Crypto Valley, is highly secure, reliable and supported 24×7.

James Banister, Chief Executive Officer of Market Synergy,

James Banister, CEO, Market Synergy comments, “Since we announced our plans to provide institutional standard connectivity for Bitfinex, we have had significant interest from global brokers and hedge funds to connect through our network to Bitfinex’s digital asset gateway. I am delighted that we are going live today and that institutional clients worldwide can benefit from our high performance connectivity to Bitfinex. We can also now offer colocation services to any Bitfinex institutional client.”

Paolo Ardoino, CTO, Bitfinex adds, “At Bitfinex we are constantly innovating to provide the most sophisticated trading platform in the market, and working with Market Synergy, we have been able to take a pioneering step forward with our data migration to dedicated private servers. It has been a considerable undertaking but one we felt was integral to provide a service that matches our ambition and market expectation. We are glad to have been able to collaborate with Market Synergy to provide a solution that promises even greater speed and security across our platforms.”

Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex

Market Synergy was founded by James Banister, who has also created FXecosystem and Bondecosystem, both of which are institutional market leaders in outsourced connectivity in their respective asset classes.

Market Synergy aims to become the leading institutional outsourced connectivity provider in the cryptocurrency space. It is a separate company within the FXecosystem Group, which also comprises of FXecosystem and Bondecosystem, both of which are institutional market leaders in outsourced connectivity in their respective asset classes.

Bitfinex is a digital asset trading platform offering state-of-the-art services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers.

Monex Group to Launch New Discretionary Investment Asset Management Service in Spring 2019

December 12, 2018 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Capital Markets, foreign exchange, hedge funds, investment, investors, Monex Group

Japan is witnessing increased demand for discretionary investment asset management services which exceeded ¥8 trillion by June 2018.

Monex-Saison-Vanguard Investment Partners, Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese financial giant, Monex Group has today revealed its plan to launch new discretionary investment asset management service. The new service is named “MSV COMPASS” and is based on the concept of “MSV LIFE “, the company’s online self-directed asset management service. The new service will be launched early spring next year.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, and the company said that the new investment management service will be targeted towards the firm’s wealthy clients and will combine robot and human support. According to the release, MSV COMPASS will be financial institution partners of the company with Akatsuki Securities, Inc. being selected as the first partner to offer the service.

The company, Monex-Saison-Vanguard Investment Partners, said that the conventional method of face-to-face service requires high investment amounts and commissions, and thus users are generally from wealthy class. But, when compared to online self-directed asset management services (robo-advisers) which the company plans to launch next spring, the offering is less expensive and will attract a lot of younger generation whose numbers are increasing.

The minimum investment amount required when investing with MSV COMPASS is ¥100,000 ($884), with accumulation and withdrawals available from ¥10,000. Overall, the company expects the annual costs of assets under management is estimated to be around 1.525 per cent, excluding tax.

For the new service, the company will perform all the aspects of asset management including selection of products and stocks to invest in. The users will able to keep all their investment details updated by checking on operational status, periodic reports, follow-up supports and also allow customisation through a personal “MyPage”.

The statement issued by the company noted:

“Together with financial institution partners, we will keep responding to the diversified asset management needs; from the needs of the customers who invest for the first time to those of the customers who want stable asset management of big money to provide for old age.”

With the launch of new service, The Monex Group is capitalising on increasing demand discretionary investment asset management services in Japan which as of June 2018 has exceeded ¥8 trillion, an increase of 20 per cent year-on-year. This has been one of the driving forces for the company to launch the new service. The ultimate investment target of MSV COMPASS as highlighted by the company is to achieve global diversification investments via exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Nasdaq Acquires Alternative Data Provider Quandl

December 5, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Alpha, Analytics Hub, Bjorn Sibbern, financial data, hedge funds, NASDAQ, Quandl, Tammer Kamel

Nasdaq has acquired Quandl, Inc., a leading provider of alternative and core financial data in order to combine Quandl with its existing Analytics Hub business within Global Information Services.

Quandl offers a global database of alternative, financial and public data, including information on capital markets, energy, shipping, healthcare, education, demography, economics and society. The alternative data and core financial data comes from over 350 sources and is distributed to more than 30,000 active monthly users.

Bjorn Sibbern, Executive Vice President and Head of Nasdaq’s Global Information Services, commented:

“Quandl will allow Nasdaq to partner more closely with the investing community as the industry continuously seeks ways to evaluate an endless supply of information to drive new insights, investment ideas and deliver alpha. Quandl’s leadership, user community, and team of data scientists combined with Nasdaq’s alternative data group and global reach, will help our diverse client base derive a broad array of new investing opportunities.”

Tammer Kamel, Chief Executive Officer of Quandl, said:

Tammer Kamel, Chief Executive Officer of Quandl

“Investors today are demanding actionable intelligence from new and expansive data sources at an increasingly rapid rate. Joining with Nasdaq will enable us to serve investors with strengthened real-time capabilities and greatly enhanced data hygiene and symbology. Our existing set of clients, including the world’s top hedge funds and investment banks, stand to benefit greatly from our mutual vision that data is going to become the primary driver of active investment performance over the next decade.”

Quandl was founded in 2012 and has grown to be used by eight of the top 10 hedge funds and 14 of the top 15 largest banks. The company had entered strategic relationships with many leading data providers to provide institutional and Main Street investors with access to a growing library of data to inform research and trading decisions.

In November 2017, Deloitte estimated that spending on alternative data may exceed $7 billion USD by 2020, with an annual growth rate of 21 percent.

Nasdaq will be able to leverage Quandl to expand its own Analytics Hub business as part of its strategy to maximize opportunities as a technology and analytics provider to capital markets, as well as its capital deployment and return on investment capital objectives.

Sucden Financial Hires Kirsty Gillies to Replace Michael Davies as Head of eFX Sales

November 21, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: banks, Brokers, eFX Sales, Fx broker, FX industry, hedge funds, Kirsty Gillies, Peter Brooks, Sucden Financial

The new head of eFX Sales will be responsible for the FX broker’s sales strategy as the company looks to expand and consolidate its presence across the world.

Sucden Financial, the leading International derivatives and FX broker, has appointed Kirsty Gillies as Global Head of eFX Sales, replacing Michael Davies, who recently moved to FCA regulated Prime of Prime brokerage Stater Global Markets.

Gillies joins Sucden Financial from UBS, where she spent eight years as Executive Director and was responsible for running its eFX sales team in London, comprising of the UK, Ireland, Northern and Southern Europe markets.

Prior to UBS, Gillies was Assistant Vice President of eFX Sales at Barclays for four years. She has a wealth of experience in electronic distribution for FX, rates and credit across a broad range of clients including banks, brokers, hedge funds, real money and corporates on a global scale. Gillies holds a Master of Arts in Economics and Management from the University of St. Andrews.

The new global head of eFX Sales at Sucden Financial will report to Co-Heads of eFX Peter Brooks and Wayne Roworth at Sucden Financial in London.

Peter Brooks, Sucden Financial Co-Head of eFX

Peter Brooks, Co-Head of eFX at Sucden Financial, said: “We welcome Kirsty to this new role within the team. With over a decade of experience she has a deep understanding of the extremely competitive FX landscape and market trends. She is well-regarded in the industry and alongside the team in London and Hong Kong, will use her broad experience to further expand the business.”

The new position will have her responsible for elevating Sucden Financial’s sales strategy in order to generate new business and solidify the company’s presence across worldwide markets.
Kirsty Gillies, Global Head of eFX Sales at Sucden Financial, commented: “I am delighted to join the team at Sucden Financial, a well-established and highly regarded participant within the FX industry. I look forward to further strengthening the firm’s position on a global level and using my skills and experience to advance the sales strategy for the eFX division.”

Sucden has lost two key executives to Stater Global Markets in October 2018. Michael Davies, who was Sucden Financial’s Head of eFX Sales EMEA, left to become Global Head of Sales at Stater.

Ayhan Gurcuoglu, who was Regional Sales Manager based in Turkey at Sucden left to Stater for the same role.

CFH Clearing Offers Local Liquidity From NY4 Through oneZero Hub

October 31, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Andrew Ralich, CFH Clearing, FX liquidity, hedge funds, Local Liquidity, Marc Levin, OneZero, Playtech, trading book

CFH Clearing, the FCA regulated FX liquidity and Prime of Prime solutions provider owned by Playtech, has partnered with oneZero Financial Systems to offer local liquidity from New York (NY4) to brokers and banks.

The oneZero ecosystem is a distribution channel of multi-asset class liquidity for the largest global network of brokers, prime brokers and hedge funds. Members are able to deliver their liquidity to other end-customers through oneZero’s Liquidity Hub, as well as manage their trading book and customize their liquidity through comprehensive
credit, reporting and risk management tools.

The oneZero Ecoystem has a number of high profile partners including Alpha Capital Markets, AxiCorp, Broctagon Prime, CFH, CMC Markets, Go Markets, Invast Australia, IS Prime, JFD Prime, LMAX Exchange, Pepperstone, Sucden Financial, Swissquote, Tickmill, and TopFX.

The partnership will allow CFH to offers local liquidity and connectivity from both New York (NY4) and London (LD4) through oneZero and become a key part of the oneZero hub environment, delivering liquidity to banks, brokers and fund managers in the US and Australia.

Andrew Ralich, CEO of oneZero Financial Systems

Marc Levin, Chief Commercial Officer of CFH Clearing, commented: “This complex integration takes our overall offering to the next level as clients can trade in both LD4 and NY4 with a single centralized back-office account. The ability to offer truly local liquidity in NY4 for the first time enhances our offer to institutional clients in the
US and Australia wishing to connect and trade in NY4. oneZero is a trusted player with reliable and reputable technology capabilities. It made perfect sense for us to partner with a provider who is the market leader in the US and Australia, markets with such huge growth potential. Now we have a robust, scalable solution in place with oneZero and we believe this will be a key driver in furthering our growth globally.”

Andrew Ralich, Chief Executive Officer of oneZero, added: “We have enjoyed working with CFH in London for years and are excited to help drive their global growth. They are a valuable partner, and it is great that our relationship continues to grow as their brokerage scales.”

CFH Clearing is part of Playtech’s financial division, TradeTech Group, ever since the $120 million acquisition in 2016. The firm claims to have more than 600 institutional clients in more than 80 countries.

FlexTrade Integrates Live Data Sharing ipushpull With FlexNOW

October 26, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: David Jones, FlexNOW, FlexTrade Systems, hedge funds, ipushpull, market data, multi-asset trading, Rhyd Lewis

Rhyd Lewis, Product Manager at FlexTrade

FlexTrade Systems announced the integration of real-time interoperability platform ipushpull (iPP) with its FlexNOW execution management system so that users can leverage IPP’s live data sharing and workflow automation.

FlexNow is a MiFID II-compliant broker-neutral execution management system that connects to market data providers and integrates with any order management system (OMS) via FIX and API. Designed for hedge funds and mini-primes who require a streamlined, multi-asset trading system at the click of a button, the solution also comes with a built-in transaction cost analysis functionality.

The multi-asset execution and order management systems provider chose “ipushpull because they are the leader in automatically connecting grids of data across any connected application in the cloud”, according to Rhyd Lewis, product manager at FlexTrade.

“Integrating iPP with FlexNOW benefits our clients since they can easily access their trade data via other third-party applications”, including desktop applications, messaging platforms, in-house systems, and cloud services.

David Jones, CTO of ipushpull, said:

David Jones, CTO of ipushpull

“ipushpull’s partnership with FlexNOW provides a seamless, efficient workflow. We are delighted to be part of FlexNOW and look forward to providing our data sharing and workflow automation to push access-controlled data to their clients in the quickest and most cost-effective way.”

iPP can be used on a number of applications, including MS Excel, Symphony, OpenFin, ChartIQ, and databases, to provide secure and compliant messaging directly into FlexNOW’s trading blotter. Its analytics module improves data analysis, including tracking client behavior and activity as well as the ability to create specific alerts on that matter.

FlexNow was officially launched in April 2018, as a unique broker-neutral EMS. At pre-launch, the system was already being used by over 200 clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Albar Capital, PSG Capital, and Wesleyan Assurance Society were some of the first users.

The company has recently integrated the SmartStream Reference Data Utility (RDU) with FlexTRADER Execution Management System (EMS) in order to allow mutual clients the ability to embed SmartStream RDU’s Systematic Internaliser (SI) Registry information directly into the send order ticket for MiFID II purposes.

Fullerton Markets to Distribute Liquidity Into oneZero Ecosystem

October 13, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Andrew Ralich, brokerage, Fullerton Markets, FX brokerage, hedge funds, Liquidity Hub, Mario Singh, oneZero Financial Systems, Prime Brokers, Retail Fx

Fullerton Markets, the New Zealand-based Retail FX brokerage, has partnered with broker technology solutions provider oneZero Financial Systems in order to distribute liquidity into the oneZero EcoSystem.

The ecosystem is a distribution channel of multi-asset class liquidity for the largest global network of brokers, prime brokers and hedge funds. Members are able to deliver their liquidity to other end-customers through oneZero’s Liquidity Hub, as well as manage their trading book and customize their liquidity through comprehensive credit, reporting and risk management tools.

Mario Singh, CEO of Fullerton Markets

Mario Singh, CEO of Fullerton Markets, said:

“As we continue to scale globally, we are always on the lookout for a partner who can provide efficient and scalable solutions for our increasing business needs. oneZero’s exceptional infrastructure, combined with their high level of support, is something that we can leverage to better serve our base of global clients. We look forward to a great partnership ahead.”

Andrew Ralich, CEO of oneZero Financial Systems, commented:

Andrew Ralich, CEO of oneZero Financial Systems

“We are thrilled to have Fullerton join our platform. I have been impressed with Fullerton’s leadership and growth over the years and look forward to seeing their capabilities increase as they expand their offerings.”

Advanced Markets Endorse FX Global Code, Register With Australian AFMA

October 6, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: ACI Australia, Advanced markets, AFMA, Anthony Brocco, Brokers, Fund managers, FX Global Code, hedge funds, liquidity provider, prime brokerage

Australian Financial Markets Association AFMA

Advanced Markets, a provider of liquidity and technology to brokers, fund managers, hedge funds and CTAs, has formally endorsed the FX Global Code of Conduct thus registering with The Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA) in their public register supported by ACI Australia.

The institutional liquidity provider and Prime of Prime brokerage is an Australian Financial Services Licensee supporting direct market access (DMA) trading in spot FX, energies, precious metals as well as CFDs. Its liquidity ultimately serves more than 40,000 institutional and individual clients in more than 30 countries globally, according to the company’s estimations.

The Global Code states it “has been developed to provide a common set of guidelines to promote the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale foreign exchange market (FX Market). It is intended to promote a robust, fair, liquid, open, and appropriately transparent market in which a diverse set of Market Participants, supported by resilient infrastructure, are able to confidently and effectively transact at competitive prices that reflect available market information and in a manner that conforms to acceptable standards of behavior.”

Anthony Brocco, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Advanced Markets

Anthony Brocco, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Advanced Markets, commented:

“Formally committing to the FX Global Code of Conduct was a logical step for Advanced Markets given that, since inception, the firm has continually operated under the guidelines laid out within the Code. We don’t need to change any aspect of the way in which we operate, it’s simply business as usual for us. Full transparency and aligning interests with our clients have always been at the foundation of our business model.”

In May 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) affirmed its commitment to the BIS Fx Global Code of Conduct. The Bank of England along with six other European System of Central banks (ESCB) including Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania have also ‘joined the club’ in February.

BGC Partners Appoints BoA Executive, Liam Hudson as its Head of Electronic Forex

August 23, 2018 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: arbitrage, BGC Partners, brokerage, Electronic Forex, FX Algorithmic Execution, FX eCommerce, Fx eTrading, FXLIVE, Global Head of FX, hedge funds, Liam Hudson, low latency, quant, trading platform

Liam Hudson, BGC Partners Head of Electronic Forex

BGC Partners, the American global financial services company has appointed Liam Hudson as Head of Electronic Forex. Liam will be based out of the company’s London office and lead the broker’s electronic products globally.

Liam has over two decades of experience in the financial industry and joins BGC Partners from Bank of America, where he was Managing Director and Global Head of FX eCommerce where he worked for almost 8 years. Before joining BoA, Liam was Director of FX Algorithmic Execution at Barclays Capital for one and a half years.

He started his career in 2001 with Lehman Brothers in FXLIVE Foreign Exchange Trading Platform and was elevated to the position of Senior Vice President, Fx eTrading. He worked at Lehman Brothers until the company went bankrupt in 2008.

Going by his academic qualification, despite graduating and completing PhD in Physics, he has excelled in the financial industry with rapid career growth. According to his LinkedIn profile, he specialises in FX, E-commerce, Banking, Hedge Funds, Low Latency, Pricing, Risk Management, Quant, Arbitrage, Architecture, Real Time, Front Office, Leadership and Communication.

BGC Partners is a global brokerage firm that operates in financial and real estate markets and has headquarters both in London and New York. It offers services like trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information and other back-office services.

ADSS Appoints Ashraf Elgarf As Head of Sales Trading UK

August 13, 2018 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: ADSS, Ashraf Elgarf, FCA regulated, foreign exchange broker, Head of Sales Trading, hedge funds, high net-worth, liquidity provider, Paul Webb, regulatory, trading desk, trading execution

Paul Webb, Chief Executive Officer at ADSS London

ADSS, an Abu Dhabi-based foreign exchange broker formerly known as ADS Securities, has appointed Ashraf Elgarf as Head of Sales Trading for the UK market, based at the firm’s London office and reporting directly to the ADSS London CEO Paul Webb.

An industry veteran with over 15 years of experience in multi-asset sales, Ashraf Elgarf is a specialist in trading execution. He joined ADSS from UK FCA-regulated IG to set up a high net-worth sales trading desk in the London office.

During his 15 years at IG, Elgarf played a number of execution-led roles, including running the company’s execution trading desk where his team carried out CFD and cash trades for the firm’s largest High Net Worth and institutional clients. He then moved into the sourcing and onboarding of new clients with an emphasis on funds, hedge funds, and Liquidity Provider solutions. At ADSS, Elgarf will be responsible for expanding the product range to cater to a more diverse range of clients.

Paul Webb, Chief Executive Officer at ADSS London, commented:

“The hire of Ashraf is a very strong indication of ADSS intention to grow its business post ESMA rule changes. Following the recent regulatory changes, ADSS has looked to diversify its product range and client base, with this hire being an important part of its plans. Ashraf brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the business and his impressive track record in this space is key to the diversification of the London office. The Firm is committed to growing in this area as signified by its recent successful EUR730k license application, and the Firm is focused on growing this team to service professional clients over the coming months.”

ADSS has been turned on an aggressive expansion mode for both its UK and Middle-East operations and has been hiring a number of executives in a variety of roles from legal to marketing to fuel the growth.

ADSS announced its rebranding in July, which was days after appointing Jean El Khoury as Head of Marketing for the Middle East and North Africa region. In August 2018, the broker made three key hires to its legal team. Hannah Chow has been appointed as Vice President of the Legal Department. Christopher Pippel has been appointed as a Legal Counsel to ADSS overlooking the areas of investment banking, corporate finance, restructuring, and Global Markets products.