TradingTech Insight Brief
McKay Brothers Extends Low-latency Services in Asia
McKay Brothers has added connectivity at what it claims is the lowest known commercial latency between the @Tokyo-CC2 data centre and trading centres in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The procured hybrid microwave/fibre service between the Shanghai Futures Exchange data centre and @Tokyo-CC2 data centre takes less than 22.86 milliseconds round trip. Service between the HKEx data centre and @Tokyo-CC2 delivers data in less than 39.83 milliseconds round trip. Additionally, McKay recently improved the latency of its hybrid microwave/fibre service between the Singapore Exchange and @Tokyo-CC2
SIX Group Offers $3.1 Billion for Spanish Exchange BME
SIX Group intends to make an all-cash voluntary tender offer for Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) to create the third largest European financial market infrastructure group. SIX says the combination would create a diversified group with a strong presence across Europe, and believes the proposed transaction represents an attractive financial proposition for shareholders of BME. The transaction could strengthen both Spanish and Swiss ecosystems by creating centres of excellence and bringing new capabilities to BME and SIX participants, as well as attracting new global capital pools to Spain and enhancing Swiss asset managers’ presence in the EU.
Singapore-Based EDBI Becomes Pico Investor and Strategic Partner
Pico continues its global expansion plan post its acquisition of Corvil with the announcement that Singapore-based investor EDBI has become a Pico investor and strategic partner. Pico launched in APAC about a year ago and has since built presence with strategic hires, new offices and additional data centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Korea and Taiwan. Within the next 18 months, it plans to add 20 more data centres, completing coverage of APAC financial markets. EDBI joins a roster of strategic investors in Pico including Nomura, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, UBS, Wells Fargo, DRW Venture Capital and CMT.
Codel Joins IOWA.rocks with Immutable Market Data Providence Solution
Codel has joined IOWA.rocks financial data marketplace with CODELMARK, a solution including immutable market data providence and a series of applications that enable users to protect and control data, and prove integrity and validity. The IOWA.rocks partner ecosystem brings together content creators, content consumers and innovative technology partners. Codel is expected to have potential in the world of OTC products, where there are often multiple sources for the same instrument, and remove the vagaries and origins of a price to allow firms to transact business knowing they are using validated content that could stand up to regulatory or third-party investigation.
Tokyo Stock Exchange Upgrades Arrowhead Trading Platform
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has leveraged the latest technology from Fujitsu to overhaul its ‘arrowhead’ trading platform for the first time in four years. The revised platform is in operation and includes new features that prevent sudden fluctuations in stock prices, improve the opportunity to conclude contracts based on closing prices, and stabilise system performance. Next, TSE and Fujitsu will turn their attention to further development of cash markets.
Horizon Adds Algo for Implementation Shortfall Trading Strategy
Horizon Software has extended its execution algo suite with an implementation shortfall strategy algo that aims to set up two levels of spots and three levels of participation rate. This enables enable users to adapt the participation rate to the spot evolution. The algo also provides choice to either define fixed levels of trading spots or follow the VWAP plus or minus a percentage along the execution. The ultimate aim of the strategy is to increase targeted participation rate when a stock price moves favourably and decrease it when a stock price moves adversely.
Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services Rebrand to Acuity Following Sale
Moody’s Corporation has completed the sale of Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services (MAKS) to private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe. MAKS is a knowledge process outsourcing service providing high-value research and analytical support. With backing from Equistone, MAKS has rebranded to Acuity Knowledge Partners and will continue to provide customised knowledge services to a client base of over 300 financial services firms globally, in domains such as investment banking and investment research. The business is headquartered in London and operates from nine locations worldwide, employing a workforce of subject matter experts supported by its proprietary business excellence and automation tools.
Open:FactSet Marketplace Adds State Street MediaStats Equity Indicators
FactSet has added State Street’s MediaStats Equity Indicators to its Open:FactSet Marketplace. The MediaStats indicators have been developed in partnership with MKT MediaStats, an academic research firm, and scour more than 100,000 media sources as well as other big data sources to estimate future price changes and risks pertaining to individual equities, country equity indexes, and foreign exchange rates. The indicators use natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to account for biases and filter out noise in the media. Media-derived insights are aggregated to provide broader industry and macroeconomic trends, and help users improve investment decisions.
Trading Technologies Adds Connectivity to Mexican Derivatives Exchange
Trading Technologies International (TT) and the Mexican Derivatives Exchange (MexDer), a subsidiary of the Mexican stock exchange Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, have announced that all derivative products listed on MexDer will be available globally to users of the TT platform in Q4 2019. TT clients will be able to leverage TT’s suite of tools, which includes functionality for charting and analytics, mobile trading, options, FIX services and API development, to trade all derivatives listed on MexDer. This includes the widely followed futures and options contracts on the S&P/BMV IPC Mexican Equity Index, MXN/USD FX and Mexican Government Bond.
Nomura Makes Tsuwamono FX Algorithms Available on BidFX
Nomura has made its five FX algorithmic strategies, the FX Algo Tsuwamono Series, available on the BidFX platform. Each strategy offers a wide range of flexibility on executions suited to client requirements and trading preferences. The deal builds on an existing relationship between Nomura and BidFX, and is expected to benefit mutual institutional FX clients.