SGX FX and Rand Merchant Bank Partner to Enhance African Currency Liquidity

SGX FX and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) have launched a strategic partnership to improve global access to African currency markets. By integrating RMB’s liquidity engine into SGX FX’s global infrastructure, the collaboration aims to meet the rising international demand for electronic trading in emerging markets. This move strengthens SGX FX’s presence across the continent and provides a more robust bridge between regional African markets and the global financial community.

The integration allows international market participants to access streamlined pricing and execution for a broad range of African currencies. These services are available on both a deliverable and non-deliverable basis, catering to the specific needs of the buy-side. By combining RMB’s local expertise and longstanding FX experience with SGX FX’s extensive global network, the partnership seeks to foster deeper liquidity and more efficient market access.

This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to developing Africa’s evolving FX landscape. By reducing barriers to entry and enhancing distribution, the two institutions aim to encourage stronger participation from global investors. The partnership marks a significant step in the digitisation of African currency trading, ensuring that market participants can execute transactions with greater transparency and speed within a regulated framework.

BMLL Integrates SpiderRock Options Analytics into Data Lab Environment

BMLL has expanded its cross-asset research capabilities by making SpiderRock’s Options Print Set data available through the BMLL Data Lab. This integration allows institutional clients to analyse the relationship between options markets and underlying cash equity behaviour within a single, unified framework. By combining SpiderRock’s print-level analytics with BMLL’s historical data, users can better evaluate how dealer positioning and hedging flows influence intraday price formation.

The partnership provides access to SpiderRock’s implied volatility and Greeks data alongside BMLL’s existing datasets for equities, futures, and options. This data suite is designed to support quantitative research and strategy development, offering insights into how options hedging affects spot liquidity and market microstructure. The collaboration aims to help market participants understand the dependencies between different asset classes to improve trading and market intelligence.

The addition of SpiderRock data aligns with BMLL’s broader strategy of consolidating high-value partner datasets with its own historical analytics. This move is intended to streamline the research process for clients, enabling them to gain a more comprehensive view of market interdependencies and risk.

Trading Technologies Partners with NZX to Provide Native Connectivity for New Index Futures

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) has entered into a partnership with NZX, New Zealand’s primary exchange operator, to provide native connectivity for the launch of S&P/NZX 20 Index Futures. This collaboration allows market participants to access NZX’s equity, debt, funds, derivatives, and energy markets directly through the TT platform. By leveraging TT’s global distribution network and low-latency infrastructure, traders can integrate New Zealand’s market activity with their broader global strategies.

Users trading through the TT platform will gain access to a suite of professional execution tools, including automated trading functionality, execution algorithms, and the Autospreader® tool. The integration also includes comprehensive charting, analytics, and API support. This technical expansion is designed to streamline market entry for international firms seeking exposure to New Zealand’s benchmarks.

The move follows significant growth for TT within the Asia-Pacific region. In 2025, trading volumes on the platform’s APAC markets rose by more than 16%, while the total volume traded by its regional users increased by 25%. This partnership aims to capitalise on that momentum by providing sophisticated trade execution capabilities to a growing base of institutional participants.

Take Profit Trader Deploys Eventus Validus for Global Trade Surveillance

Take Profit Trader (TPT), the futures proprietary trading firm, has implemented the Eventus Validus platform to manage trade surveillance across its global operations. The deployment aims to ensure that TPT’s community of over 90,000 active traders remains compliant with rigorous exchange and regulatory requirements. By integrating this institutional-grade technology, the firm strengthens its oversight of market activity and risk management.

The Validus platform has been integrated across TPT’s entire trading ecosystem. This coverage spans every phase of the trader lifecycle, including initial evaluations, funded accounts, and live-market execution. TPT selected Eventus based on the provider’s established reputation for accuracy and its extensive track record of serving major financial institutions and exchanges.

The transition to Validus provides TPT with high-accuracy monitoring tools designed to detect and prevent market abuse. This partnership reflects a commitment to maintaining transparent trading standards as the firm scales its backing of futures traders. By utilising a solution trusted by global regulators, Take Profit Trader ensures its internal compliance framework aligns with the highest industry benchmarks.

FIS Enhances Cross-Asset Trading and Risk Suite to Level Playing Field for Smaller Firms

FIS has announced significant strategic advancements to its Cross-Asset Trading and Risk Suite, aimed at streamlining operations for investment firms of all sizes. The updated platform integrates order, portfolio, position, and risk management into a single, flexible system. By replacing disconnected legacy systems and manual processes, the suite allows smaller firms to access sophisticated trading tools and cross-asset strategies that were previously the exclusive domain of major global players, according to the company.

The enhancement introduces new SaaS capabilities tailored for alternative investments and expanded support for both public and private market strategies on the buy side. To improve operational efficiency, FIS has implemented digitised dashboards and AI-driven tools designed to optimise the user experience. According to Matt Stauffer, Head of Trading and Asset Services at FIS, these updates are intended to eliminate the barriers created by complex markets and fragmented technology, enabling firms to deploy capital more effectively.

SimCorp Launches Agent Launchpad to Orchestrate AI Ecosystem

SimCorp has unveiled Agent Launchpad, a new agentic AI ecosystem integrated into its SimCorp One platform. Announced at the SimCorp Global Summit in Copenhagen, the tool allows investment managers to deploy and manage AI agents from SimCorp, curated partners, and internal builds. The system is designed to automate complex operational workflows, including portfolio management, risk analysis, and corporate actions, by enabling multiple specialised agents to collaborate within a unified governance framework.

The ecosystem emphasises security and transparency, providing a structured audit trail for every agent interaction to ensure data integrity and human accountability. Fintech firm Orbit has been named the first ecosystem partner, contributing an agent that provides AI-driven research on market fundamentals and regulatory information. To assist with initial adoption, SimCorp is introducing a dedicated prompt library, with the first clients expected to gain access to the Launchpad later this year.

Horizon Trading Solutions Launches FixConnect to Streamline FIX Connectivity

Horizon Trading Solutions has launched Horizon FixConnect, a new connectivity tool developed to accelerate the onboarding of clients and brokers. Built on the high-performance Aeron data infrastructure, the solution enables users to configure FIX connections via a self-service interface within the Horizon Trader Workspace. This integration removes traditional dependencies on IT and operations teams, allowing for more agile management of trading infrastructure.

The platform significantly reduces onboarding timelines from several days to near real-time deployment, according to the company. By eliminating the requirement for system restarts during configuration, FixConnect reduces operational overhead and allows trading desks to adapt instantly to market opportunities. This ensures that institutional and retail brokers can maintain stability while responding to evolving trading requirements.

FixConnect supports 24/7 operations by allowing connectivity adjustments without service disruption. The launch reinforces Horizon’s modular platform strategy, providing a unified environment where clients can manage connectivity, execution, and algorithmic trading seamlessly.

Trading Technologies and Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam Announce Global Connectivity Agreement

Trading Technologies International (TT) and the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV) have signed an agreement to enhance MXV’s exchange connectivity services. Under the new collaboration, the global capital markets technology provider will supply the infrastructure necessary for MXV’s trading members and clients to access a wider range of international derivatives markets.

The partnership integrates TT’s high-performance network with MXV’s existing systems, providing streamlined access to major global exchanges including the CME Group, London Metal Exchange (LME), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Singapore Exchange (SGX). This initiative aims to improve trading efficiency and bolster the accessibility of international markets for the Vietnamese trading community.

Beyond technical infrastructure, the agreement marks TT’s first local client in Vietnam as part of a strategic Asian expansion. Both organisations have indicated that the partnership may extend into further areas, including market education, capacity building, and training initiatives designed to support the ongoing development of Vietnam’s commodity derivatives market.

HQLAX Secures Strategic Funding from Broadridge and Digital Asset

HQLAX, a digital collateral mobility specialist, has secured strategic minority investments from Broadridge Financial Solutions and Digital Asset as part of its Series C–1 funding round. This capital injection is intended to accelerate the company’s growth and facilitate the ongoing development of its technology platform. As part of the transaction, representatives from both investing firms will join the HQLAX Board of Directors, pending regulatory approval from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

The partnership focuses on enhancing technical interoperability within securities finance. Key initiatives include a planned migration to the Canton Network and closer collaboration with Broadridge’s Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform. These moves aim to streamline regulated market use cases and improve the mobility of digital collateral across the global repo and securities lending sectors.

By leveraging these new investments, HQLAX continues to expand its ecosystem of bank and market infrastructure partnerships. The firm remains focused on driving the adoption of digital solutions to improve efficiency in global financial markets. All strategic developments and board changes remain subject to standard oversight from the CSSF.

STP Investment Services and CAPIS Partner to Launch Integrated Trading and Operations Model

STP Investment Services and CAPIS have announced a strategic partnership to provide a coordinated outsourced model for buy-side firms. This collaboration integrates CAPIS’ institutional trade execution with STP’s technology-enabled investment operations. The solution is designed to bridge the traditional gap between front-office trading and middle-office support, allowing investment managers to scale their businesses without the need to expand internal headcount.

The partnership focuses on eliminating operational friction by aligning data feeds and file structures. By synchronising system requirements and data fields, the firms enable trading data to flow directly into downstream workflows, reducing the need for manual reconciliation. This integrated approach has already been successfully deployed for a mutual client, resulting in a more scalable operating model and faster processing times across the trade lifecycle.

Under the agreement, CAPIS offers outsourced and supplemental trading across global equities, fixed income, and derivatives, including commission management expertise. Simultaneously, STP provides middle-office solutions through its BluePrint platform, covering reconciliation, settlements, and reporting. This flexible infrastructure allows emerging and established managers to outsource discrete functions or their entire operational suite to enhance efficiency and business continuity.