Devexperts Launches DXtrade as a SaaS Trading Platform for FX/CFD Brokers

Software provider Devexperts this week launched DXtrade, a new SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) trading platform for the retail FX and CFD industry. DXtrade is an off-the-shelf trading platform that allows brokers to determine their own layout and setup in order to differentiate themselves from the wider market. This includes back-end configurations, where brokers can set up limits, rebates, margins, spreads, and client execution on instruments, group or individual client levels, allowing them to create custom offerings for multiple client segments. DXtrade also offers proprietary trading including custom trading journals, dashboards, modern navigation, and more, on a highly intuitive mobile and web UIs.

Boosted.ai Raises $8 Million in Series A Funding

Boosted.ai, a distributed machine learning platform for investment managers, has closed an $8 million USD Series A financing round, led by Portag3 Ventures. Dunamu & Partners and Polar Equity Partners also participated in the round. Inclusive of seed capital, Boosted.ai’s total funding now stands at $11 million. Boosted.ai will use the funding to enhance Boosted Insights, its proprietary machine learning platform that empowers portfolio managers, analysts and chief investment officers to augment their existing investment processes, source new ideas and manage risks. Co-founded in 2017 by Joshua Pantony, Jon Dorando and Nicholas Abe, Boosted.ai currently has more than a dozen active clients.

Equiduct Reports Record Trading Volumes

Pan-European retail trading venue Equiduct has reported a record turnover of €9.8 billion for the month of March 2020, an increase of 203% in comparison to March 2019. This strong finish to the first quarter saw new quarterly records set for the platform with a total turnover of €20.1 billion, representing a 109% increase compared to Q1 2019 with a 68.5% increase in market share. On 25 March, a new record for turnover in a single day was set, with more than €681 million traded on the platform. “We can observe a shift of trading activity to multilateral regulated markets such as Equiduct which provide greater depth of liquidity in a more robust environment,” said Wail Azizi, Head of Business Development.

Diginex Partners with Itiviti on NYFIX Connectivity

Itiviti has partnered with Diginex, a digital asset financial services and advisory company, to provide its global NYFIX connectivity platform to Diginex clients: enabling them to access to a FIX-based order routing network that connects 1,600+ buy-side, sell-side and trading venues across all asset classes. According to the announcement, the partnership was driven by demand from institutional investors, who wish to include digital assets in their portfolios, while utilising scalable connectivity based on FIX, the industry messaging standard.

Push Technology Secures £10m Series A Investment

Push Technology, a US-based provider of in real-time data streaming and messaging solutions, has completed a £10 million Series A round of financing. Maven Capital Partners led the round with participation from new and existing investors Guinness Asset Management and Stephens Capital Partners. The investment will assist the company to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as broaden and accelerate product development. Maven’s Investment Director, Andrew Symmonds, and Guinness Asset’s Investment Manager, Ashley Abrahams, will join Push Technology’s Board of Directors.

DRW Adopts OpenGamma’s Analytics

DRW, a major global principal trading firm, will use OpenGamma’s analytics in its treasury function to manage derivatives margin. DRW chose the software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution as it seeks to expand its treasury capabilities in response to regulations such as Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR). The regulations require any trading strategy that uses leverage to optimize and be efficient with its use of collateral. OpenGamma’s solution will enable DRW to improve treasury processes by regularly evaluating alternative ways to put on new trades across both clearing houses and bilateral counterparties.

Google Anthos Service Partner Status for GFT

GFT, a global IT services and software engineering provider, has been designated as a global Google Anthos Service Partner. Google Anthos is an open source, hybrid modernisation platform, based on Kubernetes and providing a ‘single pane of glass’ enabling clients to manage and monitor an entire hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure. It enables users to easily move applications and microservices around their technology estate and across multi-cloud environments with no hardware lock-in. To date, Google has partnered with a limited selection of third parties to drive the platform forward, of which GFT becomes the latest.

ICE Futures Waives Voice Recording, Time-stamping Requirements

ICE Futures US has granted temporary relief to intermediaries from the obligation to comply with certain requirements, including from the requirement to make and keep records of oral communications, as long as a written record is provided instead. The exchange has also granted relief from any requirement to record the date and time by time-stamp or other timing device, provided that a record of the date and time is kept to the nearest minute, for example by instant message or email. Previously, the exchange confirmed that floor brokers and impacted intermediaries would be allowed to work from different locations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has supported these measures, issuing its own no-action letters confirming relief from both oral communications recording and time-stamping for brokers, swap dealers, forex dealers, and members of designated contract markets and swap execution facilities.

Neoxam Expands into Poland With Skarbiec TFI

Polish asset manager Skarbiec TFI has chosen NeoXam’s Density portfolio management solution for its 42 funds and sub-funds. Density will be the backbone solution for the entire asset management group, covering all calculations for the funds, as well as pre and post-trade compliance. Where previously the group had used excel to monitor its funds portfolios, Density will allow them to have an overview of the current and historic performance of the funds, increasing efficiency and allowing them to manage their funds more effectively. Skarbiec TFI marks NeoXam’s first client win in Poland, as part of its planned expansion into Central and Eastern Europe following the hire of Philipp Sfeir, an ex-head Head of Data at a top-four Swiss bank. Poland is the second largest hub for asset management in Eastern Europe.

CFTC Issues COVID-19 Relief

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has relaxed rules around voice and telephone recording for swap execution facilities up until the end of June, along with relief to designated contract markets regarding audit trail and related requirements over the same period. The spread of coronavirus has caused compliance with certain CFTC requirements to be particularly challenging or impossible because of displacement of personnel from normal business sites due to social distancing and other measures.

“These prudent, targeted, and temporary actions will help facilitate orderly trading and liquidity in our derivatives markets,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert.