TS Imagine has updated its sell-side financial risk management technology platform, with a solution designed for financial institutions to prepare for and defend margin calls.
RiskSmart X, which launched last year, originally allowed users to assess how much margin they should require from their buy-side clients. With this update, the CCP Margin Calculator allows users to also assess how much margin will be required from their exchange counterparts.
Andrew Morgan, TS Imagine
TS Imagine chief revenue officer and president, Andrew Morgan, said, “We live in uncertain times and within this backdrop, our clients value clarity and preparedness. RiskSmart X was purpose built for prime brokers, risk managers and operations executives at sell-side institutions. It allows users to assess and manage their risk exposure to various counterparts, and prepare for shifting regulatory requirements, audits and government inquiries.”
Currently, RiskSmart X’s coverage includes 33 clearinghouses, more than 50 global exchanges, and 13 methodologies. Calculations are updated throughout each trading day, and TS Imagine said it will continue to expand its coverage based on client needs and developments within global financial markets.
Virtu Financial went home with the best equities E/OMS award at the European Market’s Choice Awards this year. Michael Loggia, global head of workflow technology at Virtu Financial, discusses the company’s recent successes and future plans.
What has driven your success this year? When I look at the organisation’s recent success, I can’t help but attribute it to the culmination of a multiyear, technology-driven strategy that is now coming to fruition. The acquisition of ITG by Virtu marked a shift in our long-term product vision, which drove a full-scale migration of our entire client base over the past five years and laid the groundwork for the current version of our execution management system (EMS), Triton Valor. The backbone of Triton Valor is a truly global, data-driven EMS built with an asset class-agnostic framework. The tireless efforts of our product, sales, and coverage teams, along with close client partnerships, have propelled our highly regarded standing in the marketplace.
How have you focused investment to support this growth? Creating a system with the ability to operate across asset classes was the first step in our growth plan. Once we had a solid foundation for Triton Valor, we were able to focus our product and development resources on building out feature sets to address our clients’ largest challenges. For our client community, the issues that tend to be in focus centre around automation, expansion of functionality within non-equity assets, and leveraging data to help guide client trading decisions. Each of these items represents functionality that clients are eager to leverage, and from which they see direct benefits.
Immediate client adoption also has the added benefit of creating a productive feedback loop, allowing our team to iterate in response to a constantly evolving marketplace. Integration with our top-tier in-house analytics product, Virtu Analytics, is an example of where this integration shines. We can present broker-dealer scorecards based on losing quotes from RFQs as well as AXES and IOIs. The native integration with Virtu Analytics allows us to easily present these valuable pre-trade insights with a simple blotter click. Additionally, custom broker scores can be pulled directly from our analytics environment to drive further trading automation. The combination of our Virtu Analytics product, when paired with the EMS, creates a very powerful offering that is only available from Virtu.
What has been customer response? The client response to our long-term product strategy and recent releases has been overwhelmingly positive. This has been evidenced both in many unsolicited industry publications citing our usage rankings (such as Bloomberg’s articles on EMS and Algo wheel market share), client-based surveys (e.g. The Trade’s Annual EMS survey, where we were the top-scoring EMS based on client feedback for four consecutive years), and anecdotally by our client-facing team. Importantly, our investments have driven growth across many client partnerships, providing us with greater insight into their long-term strategies and opportunities to collaborate. Keeping a pulse on how our clients see the future is paramount to our ongoing success and we rely on their insight to shape our project roadmap and guide technical investments. One of our most important measures of success as an organisation is client satisfaction, and I’m proud to say it’s among the highest levels it has ever been during my tenure at Virtu.
L to R: Virtu Financial’s Jordan Sant, Alice Foster, Melissa Ellis, Jennifer Berry and Joe Ford.
In which areas are you building the team (numbers/skills etc), and why? As markets have continued to evolve, we’ve seen a shift in the mix of skill sets we’re looking to employ. In general, our dedicated coverage personnel have migrated to more technology-centric roles. Five years ago, our regional coverage desks might have been a mix of 80% soft skills and 20% technical skills. Our current staffing has become much more technically savvy while retaining a baseline of other skills, allowing them to successfully educate, troubleshoot, and guide clients daily. The technical skills enable greater utilisation of existing toolsets, such as user-facing APIs, which allow our team to build and maintain customised solutions for clients faster than ever before. All that said, we also pride ourselves on having a team of individuals with practical trading knowledge. We’re very proud of the culture we’ve fostered and the team we have in place.
How will the market see your offering evolve over the next twelve months? At Virtu, we are never finished improving. Maintaining a top-tier product requires continuous investment and evolution. We are developing platforms that support many of the largest global trading desks and we must continue delivering for them so they can achieve their own growth targets. Our plans for this year and next will include a mix of the items mentioned above as well as expanding access to new venues and asset types that were previously unavailable. Our goal is to minimise friction in the entire trading process while maintaining an intuitive, centralised dashboard for each trader, allowing them to accomplish everything they need within our user interface. We have clearly heard our clients’ feedback: no one wants to login to fourteen separate systems and constantly switch between them just to execute a single trade. We are more focused than ever on enhancing our capabilities and strengthening partnerships where appropriate to provide a best-in-class experience for all our clients’ needs.
Andy Mahoney, FlexTrade (photo courtesy Richard Hadley).
When using algo wheels, traders will leverage transaction cost analysis (TCA) to determine which broker is best, but data barriers often present a challenge. Nonetheless, integrating analytics and data into broker selection allows algo wheels to continuously improve.
According to a report from FlexTrade, Enhance Institutional Trading Performance: Leveraging AlgoWheels and Advanced Cost Models, many of their clients must collate disparate data sources and sift through mountains of data to glean insights. Collecting, normalising, and analysing data, as well as achieving the sample size necessary to derive value from trading experiments, are common problems, the report suggests. Additionally, in terms of data, the quality of the output is often determined by the quality of the input.
Andy Mahoney, FlexTrade (photo courtesy Richard Hadley).
FlexTrade managing director, EMEA, Andy Mahoney, told GT that modern algo wheels have moved beyond the original construct of simple, pre-configured automating rules.
“Today, a modern algo wheel is designed to provide maximum flexibility in constructing automation for testing and rules, with simple drag-and-drop tools that can be used without IT assistance.
“Taking things a step further, traders can incorporate TCA data and in-flight analytics to create a real-time feedback loop that automatically prioritises better performing destinations and liquidity sources, while decreasing allocation to those missing the target. Traders can use multiple performance metrics to refine an algo wheel, ensuring continuous trading improvement based on the order profile rather than being hardcoded to one dimension,” Mahoney added.
Institutions also struggle with transaction cost analysis, the report noted, as well as market noise and sample size. Volatility, market events, and trading activity all cloud analysis of brokers and strategies. And in order to draw meaningful conclusions from algo wheel or TCA results, there needs to be enough historical data.
Parameter normalisation also creates headaches, as firms attempt to stitch and map data together from different brokers. Additionally, industry sectors can have large intraday moves that add an additional hurdle for comparison.
FlexTrade posits that transaction cost models, which remove market noise and normalise data sets, allow institutions to properly analyse broker performance. As an input to the algo wheel, the normalised data is used to draw comparisons to discover the optimal mix of brokers, algorithms, and strategies. “This is further improved as desks adopt experiments as part of the process, which helps them gain a competitive edge,” the report noted.
Options on Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) futures will begin trading on Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) from 14th October, subject to regulatory approval, Cboe Global Markets has announced.
Cboe’s currently-available securities-based VIX Index options allow investors to manage or gain exposure to US equity market volatility. The new options will perform a similar function, but are based on front-month VIX futures.
As futures are the underlying asset for the options, they will be regulated by the CFTC. This will grant access to a broader range of market participants, Cboe said, who can use the product to express their views on market volatility.
The options will physically settle into front-month VIX futures, Cboe explained, and will grant customers increased choice in expiration dates and allow for more granular hedging strategies. Positions may be hedged using front-month VIX futures and standard VIX Index options, it added. It will only be possible to exercise the options at expiration.
Cboe also plans to launch Cboe S&P 500 Variance futures and Cboe S&P 500 Dispersion Index futures on Cboe Futures Exchange, subject to regulatory approval.
Rob Hocking, head of product innovation at Cboe, commented: “Given the increased trading activity we’re seeing in VIX options and the strong demand for hedging tools this year, we’re excited to expand our volatility toolkit to include these new options on VIX futures and our planned relaunch of variance futures coming in late September.
“With the US election quickly approaching, which has historically been a meaningful volatility catalyst for markets, we expect these tools will help meet customer demand to effectively manage risk.”
Catherine Clay, head of global derivatives at Cboe, added: “We expect options on VIX futures will complement our existing product suite, appealing to a broad group of users. By listing these options on Cboe’s US futures exchange, CFE’s global network of futures commissions merchants and brokers can trade them using the same connections and memberships already established for trading VIX futures, thereby enhancing ease and accessibility.”
Rimes, a provider of EDMaaS (enterprise data management-as-a-service) and investment platform solutions has named Erik Beck as president and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).
Based in New York, Beck will lead the North America business as well as the company’s global client-facing organisation.
Erik Beck
On his appointment, Beck said: “Known for its customer-centric service and cloud-native investment management solutions, which have driven the company’s success across geographies and segments, Rimes is already a critical partner to the asset owner, asset management and asset servicing industries.”
Beck was most recently chief commercial officer at Inspira Financial (previously Millennium Trust Company), responsible for the go-to-market strategy for each of Inspira’s lines of business.
Prior to this, Beck was a managing director, member of the operating committee, and head of the investment management industry group at BNY (previously BNY Mellon), where he led the team responsible for business development and client engagement with BNY’s investment management clients.
Rimes CEO Brad Hunt said: “[Beck’s] extensive industry knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our organisation.”
The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority will continue to work closely together, the bodies said, particularly when it comes to overseeing financial market infrastructure (FMI).
In a joint statement the pair said their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has proved effective in reducing duplicate regulatory oversight and will be reviewed annually. Feedback from FMIs suggested that the current state of play is “working effectively”.
The Bank and FCA held a consultation with FMIs: Central Counterparties (CCPs), Recognised Investment Exchanges (RIEs) and Recognised Central Securities Depositories (RCSDs) based on these firms’ interaction in 2023.
The firms acknowledged the coordinated efforts and agreed that the Bank and FCA remain committed to effective co-operation. Respondents also highlighted increased communication and coordination between the respective supervisory teams relating to topics such as operational resilience.
The MoU will be updated in 2024 to reflect changes related to the Financial Services Markets Act (2023), as well as new areas requiring coordination, including regulatory sandboxes, in which innovations can be safely tested, and policy initiatives.
The Bank and FCA are also agreeing a separate MoU setting out how they intend to cooperate with each other in relation to the operation and supervision of the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). This DSS MoU will be published before supervision in the DSS commences.
Eventus’s trade surveillance solution Validus is now available to members of Brazil’s National Association of Securities, Foreign Exchange and Commodities Brokers and Dealers (ANCORD).
Validus can be adapted to user needs, and provides ready-to-use solutions alongside automation and functionality capabilities to handle more complex use cases. Clients are able to handle increased data volumes during unusual market activity and amend practices in the face of regulatory changes, the firm added.
The partnership follows strict market operations monitoring guidelines introduced by BSM, the Brazilian stock exchange B3’s self-regulatory arm, earlier this year. Brokerages in the country are now required to implement and manage their own trade surveillance systems, independently monitoring trading activity to identify regulatory infractions.
Commenting on the announcement, Travis Schwab, CEO of Eventus, said: “We’re honored to work with ANCORD to extend the reach of Validus into Latin America.
“Brazil has long been focused on protecting investors and ensuring that firms prevent, detect and root out bad behavior. Our Validus platform is proven in many of the most demanding trading environments globally, and brokers in Brazil can now tap into our expertise and high-performance technology to not only meet regulatory requirements but bring significant efficiencies to their compliance programs.”
Joshua Barraclough, founder and CEO of One Trading
In this regulatory round-up, we see the US Securities and Exchange Commission propose new joint data standards under the country’s Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, while Australia opens a consultation to replace Australia’s cash equities clearing and settlement system (CHESS). Elsewhere, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) listing proposals are “a shot in the arm” for UK’s public markets and mooted market reforms look to turn around low engagement with Korean Treasure Bond (KTB) trading.
CFTC exempts Singapore-recognised Market Operators from SEF registration requirements
SEC proposes joint data standards
ASX begins final consultation on CHESS replacement scope and implementation
Market reforms spark “cautious optimism” for KTB engagement
One Trading lands regulatory approval for European crypto derivatives trading
FCA listing proposals “a shot in the arm” for UK’s public markets
ESMA reports EU bonds subject to MiFID II transparency
Advancing digital finance will benefit real economy, AFME says
DIFC and Nusantara Capital Authority to develop financial centre in Ibu Kota Nusantara
Americas
CFTC exempts Singapore-recognised Market Operators from SEF registration requirements
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved an amended order that exempts two recognised market operators (RMOs) authorised within Singapore from CFTC swap execution facility (SEF) registration requirements. The exempted RMOs are FMX Securities and LMAX.
Section 5h(g) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) provides that the CFTC may grant such an exemption if it finds that a foreign SEF is subject to comparable, comprehensive supervision and regulation by the appropriate governmental authorities in the facility’s home country. Likewise, the CFTC may revoke exempt status when a facility is no longer authorised and/or in good standing in its home country.
On 13 March 2019, the CFTC determined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulatory framework for approved exchanges (AEs) and RMOs satisfies the standard in CEA section 5h(g) to exempt a SEF from registration with the CFTC.
SEC proposes joint data standards
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed joint data standards that would establish technical standards for data submitted to certain financial regulatory agencies.
The proposed joint standards would promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across the agencies by establishing common identifiers for entities, geographic locations, dates, and certain products and currencies.
Gary Gensler, SEC
SEC chair Gary Gensler said: “This proposal will make financial data more accessible, uniform, and useful to the public. Consistent data standards will make it easier for financial institutions to file reports across multiple agencies. They also will help regulators be more effective and efficient in carrying out our oversight functions.”
In addition, the proposal would establish a principles-based joint standard with respect to data transmission and schema and taxonomy formats, which would enable financial institutions to submit high-quality, machine-readable data to the agencies.
Under the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, eight additional agencies have proposed or are expected to propose the joint standards: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
APAC
ASX begins final consultation on CHESS replacement scope and implementation
ASX has released a public consultation paper which proposes the CHESS replacement settlement and subregister services be implemented in 2029.
The paper is the second of two consultations undertaken by ASX this year to gather industry feedback on scope and implementation for the project to replace Australia’s cash equities clearing and settlement system (CHESS).
ASX group executive securities and payments, Clive Triance, said: “The proposal to implement CHESS replacement across two main releases reflects how we’ve listened to industry feedback. The staged approach to implementation, where we are delivering the clearing services first in Release 1, followed by delivery of settlement, subregister and additional clearing enhancements in Release 2 is designed to manage several factors, including materially reducing delivery risk and allowing for industry readiness.”
Market reforms spark “cautious optimism” for KTB engagement
Recent market reforms could turn around low engagement with Korean Treasure Bond (KTB) trading, according to research from Bloomberg and the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).
In a survey of more than 300 global financial sector participants, just 9% stated that they had ever engaged in KTB trading, with only 3% currently trading the bonds. Of those who had never engaged, 88% added that they had no clear plans to enter the market in the near term.
KTB trading was primarily used to diversify portfolios, the respondents shared, noting that there were difficulties in trading them offshore.
However, this low engagement may be about to change. Recent market reforms including the simplified process for third-party onshore foreign exchange in July and the abolition of the investment registration certificate in 2023 were cited as reasons for greater interest in KTB trading, with the view that they will make the process easier.
Upon being presented with the survey’s initial response in May 2024, Sang Hyun Kwak, director of the government bond policy division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) of South Korea, commented: “Enhancing global investor access to the KTB markets is a key priority of the Korean government and Korean regulators. We have been launching a set of measures to simplify the trading of KTB and Korean Won, and will continue to optimise infrastructure to facilitate foreign participation in KTB markets.”
EMEA
One Trading lands regulatory approval for European crypto derivatives trading
One Trading, a European crypto-asset exchange, has been granted an Organised Trading Facility (OTF) Licence by the Dutch financial market regulator, establishing One Trading as a MiFID II trading venue.
Joshua Barraclough, founder and CEO of One Trading
One Trading is now the only perpetual futures trading venue in the EU and the first cash-settled perpetuals platform in Europe, including the UK, and establishes One Trading as the first regulated derivatives exchange in Europe accessible to retail clients. The OTF licence from The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is the first new licence granted in the EU in the past three years.
In addition, One Trading is onshoring crypto derivatives as “traded on a trading venue” instruments.
FCA listing proposals “a shot in the arm for UK’s public markets”
The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s new listing regime came into force yesterday, aiming to allow a wider range of companies to issue shares on a UK exchange.
By removing ‘premium’ and ‘standard’ listing segments and bringing in a commercial companies category for equities shares, the FCA hopes to mitigate frictions to growth once companies are listed, ensure that investors have the information they need to make informed investment decisions, and boost growth on UK stock markets.
In the new rules, voting is no longer needed for significant or related party transactions, while enhanced voting rights have been given greater flexibility. Shareholder approval continued to be needed for key events, including reverse takeovers and the removal of shares from exchanges.
Although the rules allow for greater risk, the FCA has stated that it believes the changes will more accurately reflect the risk appetite needed to achieve economic growth. They also put the UK in closer alignment with international market standards.
ESMA reports EU bonds subject to MiFID II transparency
A total of 1,355 liquid bonds trading on EU trading venues are currently subject to MiFID II transparency requirements, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) quarterly liquidity assessment of bonds.
The transparency requirements will apply to these bonds from 19 August to 17 November 2024.
Figures for the assessment are calculated using quantitative liquidity criteria, including daily average trading activity and the percentage of days traded per quarter. Additional data or corrections submitted to the association over the quarter may result in updates to the figure, and will be published in ESMA’s Financial Instruments Transparency System (FITRS).
Advancing digital finance will benefit real economy, AFME says
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has outlined four areas of recommendations for the advancement of digital finance in the EU, arguing that new technologies will increase access to finance and improve capital market development in the real economy.
One key area is a detailed look at how tokenisation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) can contribute to more efficient markets and drive growth. Using the technology could improve access to capital markets and contribute to democratisation, the association stated, and could contribute to safer and more efficient payments, settlement, and securities lifecycle processes.
DIFC and Nusantara Capital Authority to develop financial centre in Ibu Kota Nusantara
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has entered into a strategic partnership with Nusantara Capital Authority by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dubai.
DIFC governor Essa Kazimand Basuki Hadimuljono, acting chair of Nusantara Capital City Authority, signed the agreement at DIFC’s premises in Dubai. The MoU outlines a framework for collaboration aimed at advancing mutual interests and the Nusantara Financial Centre in Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN).
The key areas of collaboration outlined in the agreement include: exchange of expertise in International Financial Centre operations, including regulatory frameworks and business models to enhance operational efficiency and innovation; development of mechanisms enabling entities from DIFC and IKN to ultimately establish registered business operations in each other’s jurisdictions, fostering seamless business integration and participation in global exchanges; as well as collaboration on trends, legislation, and regulations in international financial services to stay ahead of global developments.
Erick Thohir, Indonesia’s minister of state-owned enterprises, and Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership, highlighting its potential to stimulate economic growth and drive innovation through international collaboration.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed joint data standards that would establish technical standards for data submitted to certain financial regulatory agencies.
The proposed joint standards would promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across the agencies by establishing common identifiers for entities, geographic locations, dates, and certain products and currencies.
Gary Gensler, SEC
SEC chair Gary Gensler said: “This proposal will make financial data more accessible, uniform, and useful to the public. Consistent data standards will make it easier for financial institutions to file reports across multiple agencies. They also will help regulators be more effective and efficient in carrying out our oversight functions.”
In addition, the proposal would establish a principles-based joint standard with respect to data transmission and schema and taxonomy formats, which would enable financial institutions to submit high-quality, machine-readable data to the agencies.
Under the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, eight additional agencies have proposed or are expected to propose the joint standards: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
UK-based wealth management firm True Potential has enlisted Northern Trust’s integrated trading solutions (ITS) to provide outsourced trading solutions. It assumes the trading function across all internally managed funds.
This expands the partnership between the companies, with Northern Trust named as True Potential’s custodian in January 2024. Currently, the firm provides fund accounting, transfer agency, custody and depository services to True Potential’s open-ended investment company UK-domiciled fund range.
ITS’s price discovery mechanism, which grants access to all 18 available Gilt-edged Market Makers (GEMMS) and a broad range of ETF liquidity options, was a key factor in the appointment, Northern Trust stated.
Amy Thorne, head of ITS at Northern Trust, commented: “True Potential selected Northern Trust as their outsourced trading partner to leverage our extensive access to brokers, trading expertise and transparent commission model. The addition of trading and trade-related processing means True Potential is taking full advantage of Northern Trust’s capabilities at every point in the lifecycle of an investment decision, from execution to custody and beyond.”
Kevin Kidney, head of asset allocation at True Potential, added: “Northern Trust’s outsourced trading operations provide a more attractive pricing model for our portfolios, which we believe can lower costs for our clients. This is important for us all as we continue to grow our investment solutions.
“The team at Northern Trust worked diligently to find the right solution and focused their approach on the best outcomes for our clients. We look forward to growing our relationship with them.”
We're Enhancing Your Experience with Smart Technology
We've updated our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy to introduce AI tools that will personalize your content, improve our market analysis, and deliver more relevant insights.These changes take effect on Aug 25, 2025. Your data remains protected—we're simply using smart technology to serve you better. [Review Full Terms] |[Review Privacy Policy] Please review our updated Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy carefully. By continuing to use our services after Aug 25, 2025, you agree to these
