Natasha Vij Greiner, ex- director of investment management, SEC
Natasha Vij Greiner is stepping down as director of investment management at the SEC, effective 4 July.
A replacement has not been named.
Greiner has been with the SEC for all 23 years of her career, and has been in her current role since March 2024.
The investment management division oversees and regulates investment advisors and companies, and advises the SEC on the proposal, adoption and amendment of rules and forms around the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940.
During her time with the commission, Greiner has also held positions across the enforcement, examinations and trading and markets divisions.
On her departure, chairman Paul Atkins commented: “[Greiner’s] unwavering commitment to the agency’s mission and her ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes with clarity will have a lasting effect.”
As in Europe, Australia is suffering a dwindling IPO market – so much so that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is stepping in to speed up the process for those who do want to list Down Under.
Eligible offer documents of entities listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) through the fast-track process will be informally reviewed by ASIC on an informal basis up to two weeks before they are publically submitted.
Engaging with the issuer before exposure cuts down the need for supplementary and replacement documents, minimises the need for the usual 7-day exposure period to be extended, and could reduce the IPO timetable by up to a week, the commission says. The risk impact of market volatility and consequential prices on investor appetite will also be reduced, it added.
“Creating a more streamlined IPO process underscores our commitment to ensuring our public markets remain attractive to companies and investors,” affirmed Joe Longo, ASIC chair.
“Our initial public offerings are the lowest they have been in over a decade, and companies are de-listing,” he warned.
Despite the region’s woes, the US$2 billion in AUD-denominated IPOs issued between May 2024 and April 2025 dwarfed the US$1.4 billion issued in GDP. However, the Aussie dollar remains far behind its APAC peers – US$9 billion in IPOs were yen-denominated over the 11 months, and US$13 billion in HKD.
IPOs by currency
The fast-track process is available on a two-year trial basis to entities with a market cap below AUS$100 million at the time of listing and no ASX-imposed escrow.
The trial also includes a class no-action position, allowing eligible companies to accept retail investor applications before the public exposure period ends. This will further reduce administrative timelines, ASIC says, and align prospectus and product disclosure statement processes.
Longo stated: “While we do not see regulatory settings as the silver bullet, we have received lots of ideas and are considering further regulatory adjustments to support a strong and well-functioning market.”
The announcement follows a February consultation paper reevaluating capital market dynamics in Australia and globally. More than 50 public submissions were made, including from industry bodies such as the National Stock Exchange of Australia, Bloomberg, and Apollo Asset Management.
“Greater deal certainty for companies should help deliver more IPOs, which means more investment opportunities so companies can expand, increase jobs and ultimately economic growth,” Longo concluded.
LSEG has signed a strategic agreement to provide its integrated market infrastructure technology suite to Brazilian challenger exchange and clearing house A5X.
Alongside an end-to-end post-trade platform, LSEG’s market infrastructure technology services include pre-trade risk management, an ultra-low latency matching engine, market distribution services and real-time surveillance.
Derivatives and futures exchange A5X was established in 2024 as an alternative to dominant Brazilian exchange B3. CEO Carlos Ferreira, who founded the firm alongside Karel Luketic, Julian Chediak and Nilson Monteiro, previously spent more than 14 years at financial services provider XP.
According to a survey conducted by the Futures Industry Association (FIA) and Coalition Greenwich, 30% of market participants believe that Brazil has the greatest growth potential for their firms over the next two years.
B3 provides futures and options for various currencies, interest rates and equities. The average daily volume (ADV) for listed derivatives in Q1 2025 was 8.9 million contracts – a 9.4% year-on-year (YoY) decline. However, revenue per contract (RPC) was up 29.3%.
Overall revenue for markets was R$1.8 billion (US $323.7 million), up 7.5% YoY.
In January, Optiver, IMC Trading, Jump Trading Group, XTX Markets and ABN AMRO Clearing Bank invested in A5X’s Series B funding round.
The exchange intends to begin regulatory testing in Q4 2025, and launch commercially in H1 2026.
The FCA has created a new executive role as it seeks to boost UK competitiveness, keep up with increasing stablecoin and crypto regulation requirements, and integrate the Payment Systems Regulator.
Sarah Pritchard, who will take on the title of deputy chief executive, has been an executive director of supervision, policy and competition and international executive director since 2021 and 2023 respectively.
She has also been acting executive director for consumers and competition since November 2024.
Nikhil Rathi, FCA CEO, commented: “Delivering our ambitious new strategy – to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives – is a collective endeavour and relies on continued reform. Sarah’s breadth of experience, in both public and private sectors, makes her ideally placed to help me drive this.”
During Rathi’s second term as CEO he is expected to improve the UK’s international competitiveness, boost growth and reduce regulatory burdens.
Earlier in her career, Pritchard was director of the National Economic Crime Centre. She also spent two years as global head of anti-bribery and corruption and global head of reputational risk and client selection at HSBC.
Benny Aroeman, head of markets for Indonesia, Citi
Citi has named Benny Aroeman as head of markets for Indonesia.
Based in Jakarta, Aroeman reports to Sue Lee, head of markets for Asia South and Batara Sianturi, Citi country officer and banking head for Indonesia.
Sianturi commented: “Indonesia is a key market for us. We see client activity increasing across our interconnected businesses as foreign and domestic investments into Indonesia continue to strengthen.”
Citi reported a 12% increase in markets revenues year-on-year for the first three months of 2025, reaching US$6 billion. Equity revenues were up 23% to US$1.5 billion.
“[This was] primarily driven by equity derivatives, on increased market volatility and higher client activity, and momentum in prime services,” the firm stated in its report.
Aroeman has more than 30 years of industry experience and joins Citi from ANZ Indonesia, where he has been head of markets since 2019. He has also held senior roles including head of treasury and markets sales at DBS Bank and deputy head of corporate sales for global markets at HSBC.
His appointment follows several that Citi has in the Asia South region over recent months, including Nattaphan Assavavisessivakul as head of markets for Thailand, Ng Hooi Wan as head of markets for Malaysia, and Christopher Chan as the incoming head of financial institution market solutions for Asia South and Asia North.
A month after its head of trading quit, Liontrust has outsourced its entire trading operation to BNY, citing the need for technology and automation.
Investment fund and institutional accounts for the active asset management firm, which holds £21.6 billion in assets under management and advice (AuMA), will now be traded by the BNY buy-side trading solutions division. Liontrust’s UK-based traders are joining the team.
John Ions, Liontrust CEO, commented: “Trading for asset managers has changed significantly over the past few years with the increasing use of automation and technological developments. While this presents opportunities for greater efficiency and returns, it also requires careful management of the associated risks and a significant investment in technology to compete. Our collaboration with BNY will enable Liontrust to achieve this.”
Despite attempts to recover from a 28% decline in profits in H1 2024, according to its most recent trading update Liontrust’s AuMA fell by 8.1% year-on-year to end-March. Net outflows increased from £1.2 billion to £1.3 billion.
In the update, Ions said: “Our focus remains on what is within our control. We continue to develop the business and are confident we have been making the right changes to ensure it is in the best possible shape for the future.”
The firm also lost its head of trading last month.
Liontrust has been chasing international expansion in recent years, building out its presence with appointments in Switzerland, the Middle East and Asia in 2025. Close to half of its investments and trading now take place outside of the UK. It expects the partnership with BNY to enhance its international provisions.
“BNY has extensive global trading capabilities that will provide sophisticated execution, operational efficiency and economies of scale for Liontrust and our clients,” Ions noted.
Outsourced trading has increased in popularity over recent years, thanks to its time- and cost-saving capabilities. However, a number of market participants warn that value may be lost if firms opt for outsourcing. As one equity COO told Global Trading earlier this year: “There are certain advantages to having an internal trader that are difficult to achieve without them.”
Sam Dawson, high touch sales trader for UK hedge fund clients, Kepler Cheuvreux
Kepler Cheuvreux has appointed Sam Dawson as a high touch sales trader for UK hedge fund clients, effective September.
Based in London and reporting to Chris Jay, UK head of sales trading, Dawson is responsible for the development and expansion of the company’s execution strategy in the UK.
Most recently, Dawson was a high touch sales trader at Redburn Atlantic. He has also held similar roles at Jones Trading and Carax.
A spokesperson told Global Trading: “We have recruited Sam Dawson as a high touch sales trader as we expand and develop the KCx execution strategy, focussing on hedge funds. Sam follows the hire of Ed Bowler, also into high touch sales trading.”
Ed Bowler joined the firm as a high touch equity sales trader from Nordic investment bank ABG Sundal Collier last month.
Commenting via LinkedIn, Chris McConville, head of KCx, affirmed: “[Dawson’s] hire completes this phase of our HT sales trading build out in the UK.”
Reza Dehgan has joined the UBS equity derivatives team, based in New York.
He reports to Thibaut Delahaye, global head of equity derivatives at the firm.
UBS reported US$12.6 billion in total revenues for Q1 2025, with revenues for the derivatives and solutions business up 38% year-on-year to US$115 million. UBS attributes this growth to higher volatility and client activity in equity derivatives and FX.
Dehgan has 15 years of industry experience and joins UBS from Walleye Capital, where he has been a trader since 2023. He began his career as a sales trader at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking, where he remained for almost eight years.
Atharv Deokule has joined Standard Chartered as an front office equity quant analyst within the modelling and analytics group (MAG).
Based in London Deokule reports to Marten Agren, global head of MAG.
Standard Chartered reported US$1.6 billion in profits in the first three months of the year, a 14% increase year-on-year. Capital markets revenues were up 66% to US$96 million.
Deokule joins from HSBC, where he began his career in 2019 as a quant analyst on the equity research team. He relocated to the London office from Bengaluru in 2022.
Jean de Pracomtal, equity capital markets director, Stifel
Jean de Pracomtal has joined Stifel as equity capital markets (ECM) director. He is based in Paris.
In the first three months of 2025 Stifel reported US$1.3 billion in net revenue, with investment banking revenues up 11% year-on-year to US$232 million.
De Pracomtal has been in equity capital markets since 2014, when he joined Bryan, Garnier & Co to manage transaction processes. He then spent almost six years with Barclays Investment Bank in Madrid before rejoining Bryan, Garnier & Co as a director in September 2024.
