ForecastEx is underpinned by Connamara’s EP3 platform, which integrates key exchange functions into a unified system, offering market access, data distribution, order matching, execution, risk management, regulatory reporting, and settlement. Designed to meet the needs of evolving markets, including predictions, crypto, and tokenized real-world assets, EP3 is also adaptable to traditional trading markets like equities and derivatives.

“Our relationship with ForecastEx began when David Downey, their CEO, approached us about two years ago with the idea of building an exchange,” Jim Downs, Connamara’s Co-Founder & CEO tells TradingTech Insight. “I’ve known David from our days on the trading floor at the CBOE, so we go way back. However, David is very thorough – he didn’t just rely on our longstanding relationship. ForecastEx conducted a rigorous due diligence process to ensure we would be the right partner.”

Maureen Downs, Connamara’s Co-Founder and Chair, expands on some of the reasons why ForecastEx chose the company, and what sets Connamara’s offering apart. “First, we provide a fully integrated, end-to-end solution, covering everything from the matching engine and risk management to market surveillance, clearing and settlement. We believe having a seamless, integrated system is crucial for the market. Our platform is cloud-native, but we offer flexible deployment options—single cloud, multi-cloud, hybrid, colocation plus cloud, or even a fully on-premise physical setup. This is important because, in some jurisdictions, regulations still require a physical presence. Although regulators are becoming more comfortable with cloud and hybrid models, certain areas still mandate physical infrastructure. Our flexibility lets clients choose what best suits their needs.”

Another important point is cost accessibility, she says. “We’re seeing an explosion of new exchanges and innovators entering the market with fresh products—everything from digital assets and carbon credits to events and sports trading. For many of these innovators and emerging markets, cost has been a significant barrier. So, we designed a product that’s accessible and quick to market.”

Jim adds that clients are also drawn to Connmara because of their strong foundation in trading and markets. “Our experience in the markets has been invaluable over the years. We founded the business 25 years ago during the transition from floor trading to electronic markets and since then, we’ve built a team that deeply understands market dynamics. That gives us an edge over providers who purely come from a software background. We can speak the language of exchanges and innovators, helping them fine-tune their ideas and execution. These are the reasons people choose us.”

The growing trend of buy and build, where firms want to pick and choose components and build their own solutions around those via APIs, plays to Connamara’s strengths, says Jim. “That’s exactly how we designed EP3,” he says. “I always emphasise to our engineers that what we’re really offering is access to APIs. That’s why we call it an exchange platform rather than an exchange trading system, which implies a closed ecosystem. With EP3, I envisioned a platform that delivers core, standardised functionalities while offering customisable elements around the edges. By exposing our APIs thoughtfully, exchanges can add their unique ‘special sauce’ to differentiate themselves or extend the platform when launching new products, like ForecastEx did. Several of our clients are heavy API users, and from the beginning, we focused on thorough documentation and sample applications to help them integrate smoothly. For example, we offer a clearing and settlement API, knowing that operating a clearing house is a specialised business function that might be handled separately. Our API framework is well-documented, versatile, and includes multiple adapters for different needs. We also offer a range of pre-built integrations that clients can leverage, providing a lot of flexibility.”

The component-based structure lets clients manage costs efficiently, adds Maureen. “For example, a client might only need a matching engine or a limited set of components, allowing them to start small and scale as they grow. Some trading venues begin as non-regulated entities, then move toward regulation as they expand. This approach keeps initial costs low while allowing for growth as their needs evolve.”

ForecastEx, a subsidiary of Interactive Brokers Group, Inc., operates under licences from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO).

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DXtrade XT can be deployed either as an off-the-shelf solution or with varying levels of customisation, allowing firms to adapt the platform to their specific needs. To support proprietary trading firms that provide capital for traders to trade on their behalf, DXtrade’s built-in trading simulator integrates seamlessly with firms’ existing CRM/Portal systems via API. The platform allows for comprehensive risk management, including configurable account position limits, customised trading day schedules, and automatic position liquidation at session end. Real-time monitoring ensures that traders’ performance and rule adherence can be tracked effectively.

“Over the past year, we’ve onboarded about 40 proprietary trading firms to our FX and CFD platform,” says Jon Light, Head of OTC Platform at Devexperts, in conversation with TradingTech Insight. “The next significant trend we’re seeing is prop trading focused on futures, particularly CME futures in the US. To stay ahead, we’ve developed a futures-specific version of our prop trading platform. We’re targeting two key audiences: First, existing prop trading firms that currently trade CFDs, FX, and crypto, but want to expand into futures, especially since targeting the US market is more feasible where CFDs aren’t permitted. Second, traditional futures brokers interested in offering a prop trading solution.”

In addition to trading functionalities, DXtrade offers integration with dxFeed, Devexperts’ market data and index management service, providing access to Level 1 and Level 2 US and EU futures data. Compliance, subscription management, and account creation are also supported, alongside features for transaction processing and group account management.

Available via web and mobile, DXtrade supports various trading tools, including quick order entry, position monitoring, trading journals, and advanced charting. Order types include stop market, stop limit, and trailing stop.

“There is strong demand for futures trading technology, especially as the rapidly growing prop trading segment explores new opportunities,” says Light. “We’re excited to now offer US futures contracts alongside our existing CFD services. Devexperts is uniquely positioned to provide both futures data through dxFeed and robust trading functionality. Additionally, we differentiate ourselves by offering expert guidance and support to clients entering the brokerage business.”

The expansion positions DXtrade as a comprehensive solution for prop firms looking to offer futures trading with a focus on rapid deployment and scalability.

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By way of background, Ediphy offers expertise in fixed income execution, workflow automation, and large-scale data management and analytics. The company provides automated execution services for a range of instruments, including government, sovereign, supranational, and agency bonds, credit bonds, and cleared interest rate swaps, with aggregated liquidity covering over 250,000 ISINs.

Iress provides software and services used by more than 10,000 businesses and 500,000 users globally, including trading & market data, investment management and data intelligence. According to the company, their customers are increasingly demanding the ability to trade fixed income instruments, with up to 20% of their order flows being aligned to fixed income as an asset class. The partnership with Ediphy further extends Iress’s ability to provide access to additional fixed income liquidity sources globally, without the need to onboard individual venues and liquidity providers.

Following the announcement, TradingTech Insight took the opportunity to speak with Ediphy’s CEO, Christopher Murphy, and Iress’s CEO, Global Trading and Market Data, Jason Hoang, to learn more about the partnership.

TTI: What was the strategic rationale behind the partnership, and what strengths do each of you bring to the other, particularly in terms of liquidity access and automation?

CM: Essentially, Ediphy integrates with multiple fixed income execution venues, helping clients streamline their trading workflow. Iress has a large global network, primarily supporting clients with their equity trading workflow. The strategic fit for us is strong because many of Iress’s clients currently trade fixed income largely outside their network. If we can help these clients trade fixed income in the same way they trade equities—by sending the order through the Iress platform—there will be benefits for Ediphy, benefits for Iress, and, most importantly, benefits for the client.

JH: The partnership with Ediphy enhances our clients’ access to aggregated liquidity across fixed income instruments globally. The Ediphy offering provides a low-cost mechanism coupled with an automated execution model to trade fixed income instruments across APAC, Europe and the US. Our clients only have to onboard with Ediphy to obtain access to liquidity through an extensive network of liquidity providers. We remain open to further automating this workflow to enhance the client user experience between our applications.

Iress remains agnostic and partnerships with the right service providers and vendors are a big part of our strategy in the short to medium term.

TTI: Jason, can you elaborate on the trends you’re observing in the demand for fixed income trading among your clients? What are the key drivers behind their increasing interest, particularly in the current global economic environment?

JH: Higher interest rates and a number of macroeconomic factors have forced Discretionary Fund Managers and Wealth Managers to invest outside of equities to provide more balanced portfolios and mitigate risk. This in turn has driven demand in fixed income as an asset class across our client base. This diversification can also be seen across our retail customer base, where retail investors are looking for more than access to liquidity in single stock equities.

TTI: Given that Ediphy’s offerings cover a broad range of fixed income markets, and given the wide range of trading protocols for fixed income compared to equities, how do you both anticipate this partnership will impact your clients’ trading strategies?

JH: Ediphy provides access to circa 250,000 fixed income instruments globally. This partnership won’t necessarily change our clients’ trading strategies, but it provides further optionality should they wish to. This partnership broadens the breadth and depth of coverage of fixed income products available to our client base.

CM: People often talk about the ‘equitisation’ of fixed income, but it won’t look exactly like equities because the fixed income market has its own unique challenges. However, there’s a reason equities have evolved in the way they have; clients ideally want to send an order down the pipe and have it executed seamlessly. That’s what we’re delivering for fixed income.

We abstract all the different protocols, so the order comes to us, and where we can automate, we do. However, where a heavier human touch is required, we have people on our side ready to step in. Our aim is to marry man and machine; we leverage technology where it can do a better job, but when human intervention is needed, we have fully FCA-authorised personnel to handle it. We have integrations with RFQ platforms, where our involvement is almost zero-touch, but when we need to engage in an IB chat, for example, we have the capability to do so. We take that burden away from our clients to provide them with a streamlined process.

TTI: Jason, with the rapidly evolving landscape of fixed income trading and market structure changes, how is Iress planning to stay ahead in providing innovative solutions to its clients? Are there any future developments or enhancements in your trading platform that we can expect following this partnership with Ediphy?

JH: As a firm we have recognised that to stay at the forefront of an ever-evolving market landscape, sometimes you have to partner with firms that are better positioned than yourselves to meet regulatory and market demands in certain fields. Ediphy are at the forefront of this fixed income evolution and are very much a trusted partner to potentially help our clients overcome their challenges by further automating and making complex workflows lower touch.

We constantly review how we can enhance the user experience and improve efficiencies in our trading and market data offerings.

TTI: Chris, how do you see things evolving from here?

CM: We see a convergence within this market, particularly with interest rates where they are, where there’s an increase in retail-type demand for fixed income products. The question is, how can we democratise access to help wealth management clients, for example, gain more streamlined entry to the bond market? We’re very excited about this as part of a broader paradigm shift.

TTI: Thank you both.

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Under its new licence, One Trading will become the sole crypto derivatives trading venue for perpetual futures in the EU and the first cash-settled perpetuals platform in Europe, including the UK. The approval also positions One Trading as the first regulated crypto derivatives exchange in Europe accessible to retail clients.

One Trading is pioneering the onshoring of crypto derivatives as “traded on a trading venue” instruments, enhancing regulatory frameworks and security for European customers. These new products offer a modern alternative to traditional exchange-trade futures products, with – according to the company – simpler, more precise, and more capital-efficient structures than traditionally cleared derivatives such as dated futures.

Distinguishing features of perpetual futures by One Trading are real-time settlement of all derivatives positions, and availability 24/7 across all markets, complemented by One Trading’s proprietary technology, claimed to be the fastest and most scalable spot trading platform globally.

By integrating custody and settlement on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), One Trading becomes the first EU venue to allow the use of crypto assets as collateral for trading regulated financial instruments. Offering a suite of services without the need for external clearing, One Trading’s DLT infrastructure enables collateral mobilisation on a t+0 basis, operating 24/7, and eliminating costly post-trade processes.

Joshua Barraclough, Founder and CEO of One Trading commented, “The long-term vision of the company is to enable all customer types to go long or short on any asset, use any asset as collateral, settle everything instantly, and perpetually roll contracts. Our team has been dedicated to developing a platform that not only meets but exceeds the highest regulatory standards. With this licence, we are well positioned to introduce new regulated products and offer institutional-grade solutions to all customer types starting with BTC and ETH products where no onshore EU regulated venue currently exists. This is just the beginning of our journey to redefine the landscape of digital asset and traditional security trading.”

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GPW’s project to develop a new proprietary trading platform commenced in July 2019, at an initial estimated capex cost of PLN 90 million, and with a target launch date of June 2023. However, the test version of the trading system was not rolled out until February 2024, when an initial six clients connected to the test platform at Equinix’s IBX data centre in Warsaw.

This decision regarding the new launch date follows a recommendation from the GPW WATS Implementation Committee, which is overseeing the system’s deployment and includes representatives from exchange members, KDPW/KDPW_CCP, as well as from GPW itself. Their collective oversight will aim to ensure that the roll-out remains on schedule and that all preparatory steps are completed efficiently.

WATS is set to deliver numerous technological and operational benefits across the GPW Group. The system’s advanced functionalities are expected to enhance both the quality and efficiency of exchange operations, with significant improvements in security and reliability. As a state-of-the-art solution, WATS is a pivotal component of GPW’s strategy to maintain a competitive edge and drive forward its digital transformation.

S?awomir Panasiuk, Vice-President of the GPW Management Board, commented: “The implementation of GPW’s new trading system WATS is a key step in the further development of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Setting the roll-out date has been necessary to schedule preparatory and implementing activities on the part of GPW and other stakeholders. A specific date was expected by some market participants in order to optimally plan the necessary adaptation and preparation work.”

The GPW Management Board and Supervisory Board, along with the Implementation Committee, will continue to monitor the progress of the roll-out closely, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned with the new implementation timetable.

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The partnership merges SpectrAxe’s central limit order book (CLOB) capabilities with OSTTRA’s extensive post-trade network, enabling full automation of the trading lifecycle and significantly reducing the time it takes to book OTC FX option trades.

“Although SpectrAxe only began trading earlier this year, in the six months we’ve been working with them, we’ve already onboarded a double-digit number of clients,” says Patrick Philpott, Product Design Lead, FX & Securities at OSTTRA, in conversation with TradingTech Insight. “Those clients, who were already part of the OSTTRA network for the delivery of FX cash or FX options, are an even split between buy-side firms and banks, along with some of the larger non-bank market makers.”

SpectrAxe claims to be the only electronic CLOB trading platform that facilitates all-to-all trading for OTC FX options. It allows hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, regional banks, and market makers to trade anonymously via their FX prime broker (FXPB) relationships in a transparent, lit marketplace. This moves the industry away from its traditional reliance on voice- and chat-based execution or single-dealer platforms.

“We are connected to multi-bank platforms like FXall and Bloomberg, single-dealer platforms, and dedicated FX options platforms such as Digital Vega,” says Philpott. “SpectrAxe and its clients benefit from the efficiency of a single point of connection to us, enabling access to all the institutions on our network.”

He continues: “The beauty of this collaboration lies in its efficiency. SpectrAxe has integrated with us as a publisher, establishing a single FIX connection. This allows SpectrAxe to send trades for any clients trading on their platform to OSTTRA, and we then distribute these trades onwards across our extensive network, which spans both tri-party and bilateral spaces and consolidates various FX middleware distribution components. This makes onboarding existing clients extremely straightforward. And clients can connect in different ways—some use FIX to FIX, while others use our voice affirmation platform for FX options.”

With the connection to the OSTTRA FX trade processing network, traders on SpectrAxe’s platform stand to benefit from real-time trade notifications booked directly into their risk systems. This addresses the critical need for automating FX option post-trade workflows to provide market participants with greater cost reductions and transparency.

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“For organisations such as QUOD, obtaining consistent and comprehensive data is crucial,” QuantHouse’s Head of EMEA Sales and Business Development, Rob Kirby, tells TradingTech Insight. “By partnering with Quant House, QUOD can now receive both real-time low-latency market data and historical market data with the same symbology. They can leverage our historical data to train and back-test their AI trading models, before transitioning to production using the same format with low-latency real-time market data. This data can feed into their smart order router and algorithmic technologies, creating a seamless process.”

Across electronic trading, financial institutions are increasingly adopting AI and machine learning (ML) to improve trading and execution outcomes, says Kirby. “A significant challenge in implementing these technologies is ensuring the accuracy of the data on which AI systems are trained,” he says. “QuantHouse’s high-quality, extensive historical data is now being employed to train QUOD’s AI/ML models, enabling them to adapt to and anticipate market movements. They can also utilise our real-time data to optimise the timing, price, and quantity of trade executions, thereby minimising transaction costs and market impact.”

Traders no longer need to adjust their TCA assumptions or trading strategies manually when unexpected market events happen, suggests Kirby. “They can now analyse the cost associated with each trade, optimise trading strategies and ultimately improve trade executions right at the point where it is needed most: as part of the trade execution.”

Kirby is optimistic about AI’s role in the trading environment. “Looking ahead, it will be interesting to observe the uptake and success rates of clients using traditional methods to execute in markets compared to those utilising AI trading models. This is something we will only fully understand over time. And although risk management is crucial for anyone executing in markets, whether due to human errors or unexpected machine behaviour, I’m confident that AI will save both time and money by processing vast amounts of data rapidly, allowing traders to concentrate on their core strengths.”

Commenting on the partnership, Quod Financial’s Chief Revenue Officer, Medan Gabbay, said: “In financial services, the performance of your technology is defined by the quality and speed of the data that powers your systems. This has never been more true or more important than now, as we go through a transition of data automation and AI/ML. QuantHouse has proven to be an exceptional partner in this data journey.”

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“Our relationship with GCP has been long-standing, marked by collaboration and innovation,” Guy Melamed, Exberry CEO, tells TradingTech Insight. “Joining the Google Cloud Marketplace takes this collaboration to a new level. For smaller exchanges or venues, the marketplace offers a streamlined way to select vendors and suppliers, knowing that all offerings meet GCP’s high standards. Not only does the Marketplace provide us with increased visibility, making it easier for potential clients to find us, but the ongoing collaboration between the GCP team and the Exberry team allows us to think together about future prospects, opening up many new opportunities.”

This latest move builds on Exberry’s successful track record, with numerous clients already benefiting from the company’s cloud-agnostic exchange infrastructure. Exberry’s advanced technology is designed to enable customers to develop future market and exchange solutions, benefiting from features such as adaptability, modern architecture, Software as a Service (SaaS), scalability, and rapid deployment.

“When we started the company, our goal was to be cloud-agnostic,” says Melamed. “Whether you want to deploy on AWS, GCP, or Azure, as an independent vendor, we believe in giving you the choice, so we’re committed to supporting all major cloud providers. And our architecture allows for deployment on-premises as well, which is crucial for markets that prefer colo or on-prem setups.”

Exberry’s integration with GCP not only provides a seamless technological transition to the cloud for existing markets but also supports the establishment of new markets with minimal time and resource investment.

“Our continuous advancement ensures we’re always at the forefront, ready for any changes,” says Melamed. “Additionally, we play a role in the ecosystem that requires being risk-averse while still advancing technology. We collaborate with cloud providers to enhance our technology, latency, integrability, and our operational model, enabling us to deploy systems in days or weeks, which is unprecedented in our industry. Another step for Exberry in supporting the transition we see in the capital markets and making exchanges future-ready.”

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This presents an opportunity as well as a challenge to the sell-side. If they can help their clients streamline and enhance workflows to reduce manual intervention, minimise errors, and accelerate trading and investment decisions, and if they can provide them with a way to lower operational costs while also enabling fast and profitable responses to market opportunities to better generate alpha, they can gain a serious competitive advantage.

Servicing the buy side ecosystem

With multi-asset strategies becoming more and more common, firms increasingly look to their sell-side providers to facilitate trading across a diverse range of instruments and asset classes through a single interface – whether UI or API – and to handle complex orders involving multiple instrument types, such as structured trades or multi-asset baskets for example, across different trading venues and diverse markets.

There is also an increasing emphasis on data-driven decision-making. While systematic and quantitative traders have always relied on data and models, fundamental and ‘quantamental’ firms are increasingly relying on data-driven insights to drive – or at least support – their investment and trading strategies. Firms now seek from their sell-side providers not only market data, analytics, and research, but also well-documented open APIs that allow them to seamlessly integrate such data into their proprietary models to inform and execute their trading strategies.

“The real challenge for the sell-side is adopting a technology strategy that balances their own internal needs with the ever-changing needs of their clients, one that effectively serves both,” observes Medan Gabbay, Chief Revenue Officer of multi-asset trading solutions vendor Quod Financial. “The buy side have their own technological ecosystem, made up of Portfolio Management Systems, Order Management Systems, applications for creating and managing trading strategies, various types of analytics tools, spreadsheet-based models, and a wide range of other systems they use in their day-to-day trading activities across the front, middle and back office. Forward-looking sell-side firms understand that a key part of their role is to facilitate this ecosystem, by using their technology to help clients trade their chosen markets in the way they want to trade them, as well as providing the necessary analytics and data in a format that helps them identify trading opportunities and manage their investment strategies.”

The key question for the sell side is, how to achieve the necessary agility in technology that will enable them to respond to the changing demands of their clients?

Moving beyond the buy-build debate

Several options exist. There are a number of well-established vendors who sell ‘off-the-shelf’ trading platforms, which can address many of the sell side’s needs. These platforms provide a range of essential features such as liquidity access, connectivity, order and execution management, analytics, and market data handling. However, while such off-the-shelf systems are generally adequate for day one requirements, they often lack the flexibility to rapidly adapt to changing customer needs and the dynamic nature of the markets. Firms relying solely on these platforms might therefore find themselves constantly behind the curve, limited as they are by their vendor’s upgrade and development cycles.

At the other end of the spectrum, firms may opt to build their own bespoke platforms tailored to their own specific requirements.  While this offers maximum control over the design and development process, it’s an expensive and complex undertaking, and is out of reach for most firms, other than tier one banks with substantial technology budgets.

A third option is becoming increasingly popular amongst forward-looking firms, that of buy and build. Vendor platforms that are built on modern, scalable, and adaptable technology, can be quickly deployed to meet a firm’s immediate needs and then adapted, customised and expanded as requirements evolve.

This type of approach offers various benefits, according to Gabbay. “Platforms built on this type of architecture are highly interoperable, easily integrating with other systems on both the front end – through desktop widgets for example – and the back end, through APIs. They are also much more scalable, capable of being deployed on hosted services including Cloud, on-premise, or a hybrid of the two, which leads to improved performance and better customisation to the clients specific infrastructure requirements. Additionally, being built around a component-based architecture, they offer flexibility and allow for rapid customisation, as individual modules can be created and adapted to suit specific customer requirements, new areas of functionality, evolving business processes, or changing regulatory and market structures.”

Gabbay points out that trading platforms architected in this way can also be more easily integrated with clients’ trading desks. This level of integration benefits both the client – for example through more efficient and transparent trade execution and real-time order/position monitoring – and the sell-side firm itself, by providing a better understanding and greater visibility of their clients’ activities and workflow.

For sell-side firms with limited resources, or those that believe their resources can be better invested in creating IP and not rebuilding existing technology, this approach can offer the best of both worlds – the rapid implementation and comprehensive functionality of a vendor platform, together with the flexibility, adaptability, scalability and capacity for integration of a custom-built solution. By adopting such an approach, a firm can distinguish itself from competitors who use generic or outdated vendor platforms, and compete more effectively with larger tier one banks that have developed their own solutions.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Another strategic choice for the sell-side is how to make best use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Although neither are new in Capital Markets, interest in AI has exploded since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November 2022. Since then, firms have identified a wide range of applications for Generative AI (GenAI) and the use of Large Language Models (LLMs).

One area where GenAI can add significant value in modern, component-based trading platforms, explains Gabbay, is its ability to accelerate the development and testing lifecycle, by automating coding processes and influencing all disciplines involved in defining, building, testing, operating, and supporting complex requirements. This allows firms to bring new functionality to market much more quickly than was previously possible.

“GenAI can generate test scenarios automatically by analysing the code base and understanding the purpose of different components,” he says. “It can then identify potential test cases, simulate different scenarios, and generate test data, thereby eliminating the need for manual test scenario creation. Additionally, by leveraging ML and AI algorithms, it can simulate user interactions, input test data, and validate the expected outputs. This automation reduces the reliance on manual testing, speeds up the testing process, saves time and effort, and improves overall efficiency.”

Outside of GenAI, modern trading platforms can also utilise ML within algorithmic trading, identifying and exploiting patterns in trade execution by analysing market conditions, liquidity, and order book dynamics. By scrutinising vast amounts of historical and real-time order book data to identify patterns and trends, ML-trained algorithms can determine the optimal timing, price, and quantity for executing trades, thus minimising transaction costs and market impact.

ML is also being increasingly used to develop intelligent Algo Wheels. These allow firms to analyse their incoming flow, so that the right execution strategies and order routing destinations can be automatically chosen, and optimised based on current market conditions and client-specific requirements.

Primary considerations for the sell side

Given the numerous challenges that sell-side firms face from a trading technology perspective, and the various choices they have available, what are the key considerations they need to take into account when evaluating trading platforms?

First of all, support and training are vital aspects of any technology implementation. Even the most intuitive platforms require a period of adaptation, and comprehensive training is crucial to maximise their potential. Vendors should provide robust support services to assist with both onboarding and continuous usage. This includes not only technical support but also strategic guidance to help teams leverage the platform’s full capabilities. Adequate training and support ensure that any investment in trading technology yields the maximum possible return.

Interoperability is another key factor. “A new trading platform should integrate seamlessly with existing systems to avoid operational disruptions,” advises Gabbay. “Ensuring smooth interoperability minimises the risk of data silos and ensures that all parts of your trading ecosystem can communicate effectively. This not only streamlines operations but also enhances data accuracy and decision-making processes.” Platforms that fail to integrate well can lead to significant headaches, requiring additional resources to bridge gaps between systems and potentially leading to costly errors.

Scalability is also essential for any trading platform. As trading volumes increase and new asset classes are added, the platform must scale efficiently to handle these changes. Scalability includes the ability to automate processes and manage higher trading volumes without performance degradation. “A scalable platform supports business growth by ensuring that system performance remains robust even as demands increase,” says Gabbay. “This scalability is not just about handling volume but also about expanding capabilities and accommodating new functionalities as trading strategies evolve.”

Flexibility around customisation is also important, according to Gabbay. “The platform should be capable of swiftly adapting to evolving workflows without causing bottlenecks,” he says. “Your technology shouldn’t become an obstacle, but a facilitator of change. Customisable platforms ensure that you can tailor the tools to meet specific trading needs.”

Key success factors

It’s clear that the dynamic nature of the buy-side presents both challenges and opportunities for sell-side firms. To stay competitive, banks and brokers need to consider a technology strategy that balances their internal needs with the ever-evolving demands of their clients. Whether choosing off-the-shelf platforms, bespoke solutions, or a hybrid approach, sell-side firms might want to prioritise agility, integration, and scalability in their technology stack.

Additionally, the strategic use of AI and ML can significantly enhance trading efficiency and decision-making processes. By embracing these advanced technologies and maintaining a flexible, client-centric approach, sell-side firms can not only meet the complex requirements of today’s market but also position themselves for sustained success in the future.

Robust support and training, seamless interoperability, and the ability to scale and customise are also critical factors that will determine the sell-side’s ability to capitalise on market opportunities and deliver superior value to their clients.

The post Evolving with the Market: Technology Strategies for Modern Sell Side Firms appeared first on A-Team.

The launch of EWIN represents a significant technological advancement for the exchange group. Developed in collaboration with McKay Brothers, the independent microwave network provider, and leveraging the faster transmission speeds of microwave technology, EWIN offers a direct and highly efficient communication pathway, reducing the time required to send orders from London Equinix LD4 to Euronext’s Optiq matching engine in Bergamo IT3 to under four milliseconds, around half the latency of existing fibre links. EWIN is also designed to ensure seamless and efficient order handling, offering 100% resilience, thanks to its full fibre back-up.

Major financial firms Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have already adopted the new technology.

“After establishing our new IT3 data centre in Bergamo, near Milan, we realised from a few large tier-one brokers that they were interested in exploring the performance benefits of microwave technologies,” explains Nicolas Rivard, Global Head of Cash Equity and Data Services at Euronext, in conversation with TradingTech Insight. “Although microwave networks have been around for some time and are relatively established for certain participants, it is a costly and complex technology with a high barrier to entry. Typically, you cannot buy a small amount of bandwidth, which makes the solution expensive. Additionally, there is a technical aspect because you need to develop IT capabilities to route your orders through the microwave. By default, if you buy bandwidth from a microwave provider, it’s not plug-and-play; you need to develop your protocol into the technology.”

Euronext has worked closely with McKay Brothers to address these challenges, says Rivard. “To lower the barrier to entry in terms of cost, we have purchased a bulk of bandwidth and are offering it to clients in slices, starting from 1 Mbps upwards. This means that clients can try it for six months at 1 Mbps for example, and then scale up as needed, rather than committing to a costly solution from the outset. And to address the technical complexities, the solution we’ve developed together with McKay Brothers allows clients to use the microwave link as if it were any other standard connectivity, making it very plug-and-play.”

The microwave route, provided by McKay Brothers, has been operational for two years, since Euronext went live on IT3 in Bergamo in June 2022. But this is the first time McKay’s technology has been used to underpin an exchange’s own solution.

“The development and design of this service has been quite new compared to our usual offerings,” says Stéphane Tyc, Co-Founder of McKay Brothers. “Typically, when a client purchases microwave bandwidth, they need to undertake significant internal development to integrate with the network. However, Euronext’s end clients don’t need to perform any additional integration work; they simply need to set up logical access to Euronext’s matching engine, a process they are already familiar with. And then they can benefit from a fast network that competes with the microwave products used by market makers. The important thing here is that firms who want to use this link can now just go direct to the exchange to access it, without having to put in place dedicated technology.”

Given that microwave networks are susceptible to weather and other atmospheric conditions, how does Euronext ensure resiliency? “We have two routes, one microwave and one fibre, and they work seamlessly together,” says Rivard. “We have ensured, with McKay and our internal IT team, that every order gets sent twice, once via microwave and once via fibre. The first order that reaches the IT3 datacentre is processed, and the other is blocked by the system. This guarantees 100% redundancy, increasing the overall availability of the service.”

The link is now operational, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs having gone live on day one, 10th July. “The technology has delivered on its promise so far, with latency below four milliseconds and very stable performance,” says Rivard. “Clients are currently only sending specific order types via EWIN to improve certain latency sensitive execution strategies, such as IOC (immediate or cancel) and other aggressive orders. The number of packets going through the microwave is what we expected. And of course, this is just the beginning.”

Both Euronext and McKay Brothers talk of this new service as a way of further democratising the market, bridging the gap between prop trading firms/market makers and banks/brokers. So will it be rolled out to other European centres?

“First, we need to make sure it works from London, to prove that it has an impact and is beneficial for our clients. That will take a few months to confirm,” says Rivard. “But we already have clients interested in having the same service from other locations and asset classes in Europe.”

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