AIQ Markets and MarketAxess Partner to Launch AIQ Insight for Fixed-Income Traders

New York-based AIQ Markets has partnered with electronic trading platform MarketAxess to develop AIQ Insight, an AI-native tool specifically designed to help fixed-income traders and portfolio managers analyse U.S. corporate bond market data and analytics more efficiently.

The platform allows users to search bond data, evaluate relative value, and build portfolios using natural language queries. To securely support investment decisions, the tool provides auditable answers backed by transparent data sourcing and strict governance controls.

As part of the collaboration, MarketAxess is piloting an exclusive version of the tool that integrates its own proprietary data feeds, including CP+ pricing information and Tradability scores. The launch signals an initial step in AIQ Markets’ broader strategy to deploy practical AI technologies that meet the increasing demand for efficiency and transparency in the fixed-income sector.

Trading Technologies and ICE Data Services Partner to Enhance Fixed Income EMS

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) has entered into an agreement with ICE Data Services, a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), to integrate ICE’s foundational evaluated prices and reference data into its new buy-side Fixed Income execution management system (EMS). As part of the partnership, TT will also offer its clients access to ICE’s Continuously Evaluated Price (CEP) market data feed

The new buy-side fixed income EMS is scheduled to launch later this year. Built natively within the TT multi-asset platform, the system will initially focus on USD Rates and Credit products. This integration enables clients to use their existing trading widgets and post-trade services, which are already established for futures, options, and foreign exchange (FX) markets.

Iress Secures Multi-Year Partnership with UAE Trading Platform BitDelta Pro

Iress has established a multi-year partnership with the United Arab Emirates-based multi-asset trading platform, BitDelta Pro. The agreement extends Iress’s existing trading and market data capabilities across high-growth international financial markets.

As part of the collaboration, BitDelta Pro will adopt Iress’s complete trading and market data suite. The technology integration includes platforms such as ViewPoint, Iress Pro, and IOS+, alongside FIX connectivity and application programming interfaces (APIs). Providing this infrastructure will directly support BitDelta Pro’s strategic business expansion into equities and contracts for difference (CFDs).

Furthermore, BitDelta Pro will utilise Iress’s API and FIX infrastructure to connect its front-end trading systems directly to its back-office operations. Linking these critical technical systems will enable the platform to process scalable, multi-asset execution efficiently.

New Portal Offers SEI Clients Data Management Functionality

SEI has introduced an updated investment management platform that merges SEI Data Cloud with a portal named SEI Scope to manage data access, workflows and operations.

Global investment managers collaborated on the system to cover the full operational lifecycle through automation and data governance, the provider of financial technology, operations and asset management services said.

The technology is designed to reduce complexity and help firms move faster without compromising oversight, said Phil McCabe, the head of SEI’s investment managers business.

The changes include the integration of a client lifecycle management platform alongside waterfall calculation and scenario analysis tools.

Pennsylvania-based SEI previously launched an automated onboarding platform for collective investment trusts and partnered with IBM to use artificial intelligence for enterprise transformation.

SEI also announced the appointment of former Avaloq leader Barry Frame as the company’s head of international private banking and wealth Management services.

Integral and StoneX Expand Partnership to Boost APAC Trading Infrastructure

Integral, the currency technology provider, has extended its long-term partnership with global financial services firm StoneX Group Inc. The collaboration establishes connectivity at the Equinix SG1 data facility in Singapore, a move designed to strengthen StoneX’s capabilities and client service across the Asia-Pacific region.

The localised deployment will allow StoneX to lower latency and enhance trading efficiency for its clients. By utilising Integral’s expanded presence at the SG1 hub, StoneX can directly access liquidity in foreign exchange and precious metals, eliminating the cross-region lag associated with its existing setups in New York and London.

This infrastructure expansion aligns with Singapore’s position as a major global financial hub experiencing a rise in regional trading volumes. To accommodate this growing demand, Integral has recently tripled its capacity at the SG1 facility, where it now processes more than one million tickets every day.

Waypoint Trading Solutions Expands European Footprint with Launch in Equinix MD6 Data Centre

Waypoint Trading Solutions, a TNS business, is expanding its European exchange connectivity services by launching managed hosting and ultra-low latency Layer 1 connectivity at the Equinix MD6 data centre in Madrid. This expansion prepares for Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) migrating its matching engines from Las Rozas to MD6 in the second quarter of 2027. The move places trading firms closer to the core Spanish trading platform, reducing network latency.

The new deployment enables market data vendors and exchange members to access Spanish equities and derivatives markets for market data and order entry. Waypoint will also offer Layer 3 services within the facility. This project builds on the company’s existing European colocation services, which include access to major exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange, Euronext, Deutsche Boerse, and SIX Swiss Exchange.

By establishing a presence in MD6, Waypoint provides clients with direct access to a financial hub featuring over 85,000 equities, fixed income, and derivative instruments. As a registered data vendor and application service provider, the firm offers a managed alternative to in-house infrastructure, allowing trading firms to optimize internal resources.

Shield adds Microsoft 365 Copilot & OCR to RegTech Surveillance Stack

Shield has expanded its communications surveillance platform to cover Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions and image-based content, addressing two areas where financial firms’ working practices have been moving faster than their compliance controls.

The update adds a native Microsoft 365 Copilot connector and OCR text extraction for image attachments. Together, the capabilities bring employee prompts, AI-generated responses, screenshots, scanned documents and photos into the same surveillance, archive, search, case management and export workflows already used for other communications channels.

The development reflects a wider compliance challenge for financial institutions. AI-assisted tools are becoming embedded in daily workflows, while image-based communication has become a routine way of sharing information. In many firms, however, those records have not been captured, indexed or made available for compliance review in the same way as email, chat or other monitored channels.

Shield says its Copilot connector captures employee prompts and AI responses and processes them through the platform’s existing compliance workflow in under 24 hours. Metadata is preserved for audit and investigation, allowing firms to search, review and export Copilot interactions without introducing a separate compliance tool or review process.

The OCR capability applies the same principle to image-based content. Text contained in screenshots, scanned documents and photos is extracted, indexed and analysed. Triggered terms are highlighted inline below the relevant image, making the material searchable for investigation and e-discovery and reducing reliance on manual inspection.

The release comes as firms face growing pressure to extend surveillance across a broader set of communication formats. Shield cites the 1LoD 2026 Surveillance Benchmarking Report, which found that 67 percent of banks regard surveillance across multiple communication channels as a major challenge, while 22 percent now monitor more than 30 channels, compared with 14 percent two years earlier.

Regulatory expectations are also pushing firms towards broader coverage. FINRA Rule 4511 requires member firms to make and preserve required books and records, while FINRA’s 2026 Oversight Report highlights generative AI as an emerging supervisory and compliance issue. In the UK and EU, firms also need to consider how AI-assisted and image-based communications interact with market abuse, supervision and recordkeeping expectations. The FCA has warned that firms with unmonitored risks and no strategic plan to address them are ‘a long way from meeting our expectations.’

“Comprehensive surveillance has always meant capturing everything material to business conduct. But what counts as material is changing — AI-assisted conversations and image-based content are now part of daily workflows at every major financial institution,” said Tamar Sharir Beiser, Chief Product Officer at Shield. “Shield’s role is to ensure that as communication evolves, the compliance infrastructure around it evolves too, so firms are never in a position where their governance framework is trailing their technology adoption.”

For financial firms, the issue is no longer whether AI-assisted conversations and image-based content may fall within the compliance perimeter. The operational challenge is whether those records can be captured, searched, supervised and evidenced without disrupting the tools employees already use.

TS Imagine Expands TradeSmart Fixed Income EMS to Support Comprehensive Loans Trading

TS Imagine has expanded the product coverage within its TradeSmart Fixed Income Execution Management System (EMS) to include comprehensive support for loans trading. This update allows users to trade leveraged loans, syndicated loans, and distressed debt through the platform. The addition addresses a growing demand from trading desks for more scalable, automated, and integrated workflows across their fixed income operations.

This expansion builds upon TradeSmart’s existing fixed income capabilities, which already encompass investment-grade, high-yield, municipal, mortgage, and government bonds. The platform also supports asset-backed securities, credit default swaps, interest rate swaps, listed securities, and cryptocurrency, enabling users to manage a diverse multi-asset portfolio through a single interface.

The new feature follows significant growth in fixed income automation for the company. Driven by the recent launch of its event-driven Automation 2.0 platform, TS Imagine reported a 200% year-over-year increase in automated fixed income execution volumes in Q1 2026, alongside a 44% year-on-year rise in overall fixed income trading.

BestEx Research Group Launches End-to-End Algorithmic Trading Platform for Banks and Brokers

BestEx Research Group LLC, the independent provider of algorithmic execution and trading analytics, has launched AMS One, an end-to-end algorithmic trading platform allowing banks and brokers to build and operate their own execution businesses across global equities and futures markets.

The platform integrates four key components required to run a competitive algorithmic execution enterprise, according to the company. It features high-performance execution algorithms alongside tools that allow firms to build branded algorithms tailored to specific client objectives. Additionally, it includes an integrated transaction cost analytics module to support execution consulting, offering a consistent user experience across different asset classes and global jurisdictions.

From launch, AMS One provides comprehensive market access across global equities and futures contracts on 21 global exchanges. Its equities coverage spans the US, Canada, 15 European markets, and four markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Clearstream Unveils Next-Generation Hybrid Digital Securities Infrastructure

Clearstream, the post-trade business of Deutsche Börse Group, has announced a next-generation digital securities infrastructure designed to integrate traditional and tokenised asset markets. The hybrid platform will enable market participants to combine traditional securities, digital assets, and various cash forms within a single portfolio. Operating across Europe and connecting 60 global markets, the initiative aims to support the EU’s Savings & Investments Union by streamlining international investment flows.

Launching in phases throughout 2026 and 2027, the infrastructure remains subject to regulatory approval. Once live, it will span the full securities lifecycle—including issuance, settlement, custody, and financing—for all assets regulated under the EU’s MiFID and MiCA frameworks. The platform will grant institutional access to blockchain technology, stablecoins, and security tokens regardless of the underlying technology or asset type.

Developed alongside market partners, the platform builds on Clearstream’s existing financial infrastructure, which holds EUR 22 trillion in assets under custody. The collaboration focuses on practical market applications, such as large-scale asset tokenisation, direct blockchain settlement, and the reuse of digital assets as collateral across multiple transactions.