8 October 2021 Combining FX Data And Analysis Gives Asset Managers Insight To Preserve Alpha Media & Industry News By Daniel Chambers, Head of Data & Analytics at BidFX Everyone now knows the value of “big data.” However, as with everything that is perceived to have some value, owners have quickly become protective. Some FX platforms are disrupting this trend, realising that the power of data collection from varied sources can enhance the decision-making process and Alpha opportunities for both buy- and sell-side clients. A sophisticated FX platform makes life easier for clients by taking over the burden of data collection and analytics production. And it can do so for a lot less because of development and maintenance costs being shared across the entire user base, rather than financed by a single, independent provider. But data alone isn’t the answer unless clients have the capability to distil and decipher it for their own benefit. Although FinTech firms are popping up with regularity to offer some part of the solution, the few that can provide a combination of both data and analysis look set to be victorious. Instead of just big data, the key differentiator to controlling execution costs and preserving Alpha is being able to apply attribution to that data. It’s not just about what you spent, but about knowing where you spent it. TRANSACTION COST ANALYSIS BECOMES EVERY COST ANALYSIS So, what has changed? The early demand from buy-side clients focused on cost control, with the emergence of Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) providing a benchmark for trading costs that primarily ticked the regulatory due diligence box. However, what that data provided was a snapshot of a specific time at the point of execution, which only really had information on liquidity and spread. Yet there are many more factors that go into the total cost of execution. Alongside spread, there is skew, slippage, time to market, and speed of execution, all of which have a bearing on the potential loss of Alpha. What the most sophisticated platforms can now offer clients is not just TCA, but attribution to determine where those costs were incurred. For example, by waiting until later in the day, a client may execute in a market that has better liquidity, allowing the providers to show a tighter spread. But how much Alpha was potentially destroyed by the delay between the time of receiving the order and actually executing it? The ability to have that deeper layer of analysis, and the insight such granularity provides, creates an exponential increase in the value of that data. Beyond that, composite historical data from streaming prices can also help clients decide how to execute particular trades. Should a portfolio manager choose to exit Japan in favour of Australia, the FX trader can study data on spreads and slippage to determine whether the best course of action is simply to sell JPY versus AUD in a single trade, or to break the trade into its components and deal over the USD, potentially getting greater competition on pricing, better liquidity, and tighter spreads. More sophisticated hedge funds may take it a step further and choose to analyse the merits of delaying one side of the trade in order to create Alpha—all from the availability of attributable data to support the decision. LIQUIDITY PROVIDERS CAN BENCHMARK THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE VERSUS THE MARKET Data on the actual liquidity provided can also give clients another valuable tool to improve overall execution costs. Analytics will reveal their strengths and weaknesses and isolate where they can be most effective. The data will uncover what type of market conditions are best suited to their trading needs; in which currency pair they are most competent, and whether their access to liquidity allows for efficient exit of trades. Buy-side clients may also choose to share their own data to improve their relationship with a liquidity provider. Without needing to reveal other counterparties, a client can show collated data to Bank A as to where and why it missed out on business to Bank B or C, either because of less liquidity, wider spreads, skewed prices, slippage, or any combination thereof. By helping to identify where a liquidity provider needs to improve its service, the client stands to benefit from better execution on future trades. Of course, the liquidity providers also have access to their own data that they can analyse. They can compare their individual pricing against the broader market to evaluate their own performance versus the market at a given time. The smarter platforms even have their own composite pricing data, so that either the client or the liquidity provider can benchmark their performance against an independent source, not just at the time of execution, but at any point on any given day. Over time, banks can also create their own benchmark level of performance and then compare current data against historical figures to see whether standards are being maintained. Longer-term data can also reveal patterns and trends that may show changing market dynamics a liquidity provider would need to be aware of and react to accordingly. STREAMING NDFS BOOST LIQUIDITY AND AID AUTOMATION A lack of liquidity, and therefore pricing transparency, has long been a complaint of the buy-side when using Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDFs), making them one of the most expensive FX trades, not only in nominal terms of the cost of transactions, but also in potential loss of Alpha stemming from poor execution. Even today, hardly any platforms can provide a decent body of reliable data—other than a basic screenshot of the liquidity at the time of execution—from which to derive an accurate Transaction Cost Analysis. Those few that have developed streaming NDF pricing have a distinct advantage in being able to offer much more than just a tighter spread due to better liquidity. Reducing implementation shortfall, or slippage, is another key consideration for the overall cost of a transaction. The ability to collect and analyse data from streamed pricing provides the immediate benefit of being able to determine the best method of execution—from how much it will cost to trade a specific amount at a given point in the day, to which liquidity provider is offering the best pricing at that time. These pre-trade decisions help facilitate greater automation that, in turn, reduces operational risk, which can have a significant impact on the potential to achieve provable best execution. However, a pricing platform also needs to be supported by a robust Execution Management System (EMS) to process a more complex NDF trade than a simple spot transaction. That includes features such as staging incoming orders pre-trade and straight through processing (STP) after the trade. NDF trading currently only accounts for around 4% of the total FX trading, making it a marginal activity for many providers. However, with Emerging Market economies gradually, but steadily, increasing their share of global GDP against Developed Markets, that percentage is only going to rise, with the G20 already becoming a more important body than the more tight-knit G7. With the FX market boasting turnover of $8.7 trillion a day, based on the latest Bank of International Settlements (BIS) survey, even a trajectory to just 10% of that total would be a substantial increase in volume. Future entrants to streaming NDF pricing and data may discover that late is too late, and their more nimble and sophisticated competitors have already captured the lion’s share of the market, pushing the barrier to entry ever higher for the newcomers. DATA ANALYSIS WILL BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POLICY DECISIONS In addition, while the latecomers are struggling to catch up, the early movers are not exactly standing still. The best platforms are already developing software to be able to aggregate anonymous data to improve a client’s ability to gain valuable insight and analysis. By adding the ability for a client to annotate their data, they can effectively pinpoint a moment in time when a specific change was made. From there, the post-change data can be compared with the pre-change historical data to see whether they achieved the desired results. Much in the same way a digital marketing campaign can be tweaked to reflect various responses, clients will have an almost real-time conclusion about the effectiveness of their decisions. Another advance that’s just around the corner is the introduction of a so-called Verdict system. Clients soon will be able to place a set of parameters on their trades to ensure every transaction meets their internal due diligence criteria. Clients will be able to determine their own priority of factors such as spread and speed of execution to adhere to their internal cost controls and receive a warning when one or more aspect is outside of those boundaries. Ascertaining this information before executing the trade is far more valuable than a post-mortem on where things went wrong. This system has the additional benefit of potentially improving communication between clients and liquidity providers. Armed with this data, a client can inform its liquidity provider what aspect of the transaction caused the client not to trade, whether that was because pricing was too slow, the spread was too wide, or for some other market-related reason. SITTING IN THE MIDDLE IS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS The use of data has already become an essential part of FX trading and its importance will only grow with time. While many FinTech companies offer data as a service, it is very much on the Costco model of “more is better,” yet still only a restricted cross-section from the time of execution. In addition, many providers are more reliant on the sell-side that provides the liquidity, rather than the buy-side that needs it, so much of their data goes back to the people that provided it. A sophisticated multi-dealer FX platform is in the unique position of sitting in the middle, able to collate data from both sides, with the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.Clients have already realized that analysing this data can save them money. The next step will be when they embrace the trading algorithms that run off this data and start using it to identify and seize opportunities to generate Alpha as well. This article first appeared on e-Forex. TabbForum. 8 October 2021 FX Trading For Asset Managers And The ‘Rise Of The Machine’ From the Management By Roger Lee, Head of Sales for EMEA at BidFX Just as Amazon started out selling only books, before dominating the entire online retail world, so it seems for FX platforms, which began by offering simplicity in execution and have now evolved into slick interfaces that are enabling a progressively wider realm of services than one might expect. FX platforms now offer multi-asset managers an entire suite of services—from spot execution to swaps, emerging markets/NDFs, FX options, futures, data analysis, and algorithms—catering to various needs, from pre-trade all the way through middle-office risk management to back-office settlement and audit. While FX is by far the most liquid asset class, with turnover of around $8.5 trillion (£6.3 trillion) a day, access to that liquidity has historically been quite fragmented for multi-asset managers, many of whom still rely on individual banking relationships for pricing and execution. A WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR THE BUY SIDE However, the growth of Execution Management Systems (EMS) has opened a whole new world where the ‘buy side’ can access the latest execution technology and centralise the relationship with their liquidity providers to ensure that their underlying clients are getting proof of ‘best execution.’ In addition, they can also tap into transaction services across the other major asset classes— including futures, fixed income, and equities — as well as analytical capabilities such as Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA). EMS offer a plethora of advantages beyond just greater liquidity. They enable clients to gain access to a wide realm of trading protocols that essentially give them the ability to save money and reduce market impact when compared with more traditional styles of trading. Large, market-moving trades can be broken up into smaller pieces, minimising spreads, and therefore costs. Importantly, the manager can retain control of the execution process, maintaining the ability to switch tactics as required, rather than abdicating the responsibility to a third party. LEARNING ABOUT ‘MACHINE LEARNING’ These features that focus on trade execution help multi-asset managers that predominantly see FX transactions as a hedging exercise, where cost control is a vital element. However, the evolution of multi-dealer platforms can, in addition, offer managers a raft of services that can also generate alpha. Data analysis—where size really does matter—is enhanced by the ability to pool information from a variety of sources, rather than relying on a single proprietary provider. This in turn enhances the effectiveness of algorithms and machine learning, which can help identify trading opportunities that previously would have remained undiscovered or overlooked. While the idea of trading based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) still may be far from the day-to-day reality of most asset management firms, the use and value of “big data” is much more clearly understood as the world of commerce increasingly becomes data driven. That reality is prompting more asset managers to test the waters and gradually embrace the advantages of semi- or fully-automated trading solutions. For many, the first advantage is the speed of execution, which buys them the most precious commodity of all: Time. With that time, managers can start to investigate all the other services that automation provides, such as data collection and analysis to enhance research, along with complex algorithms to identify trading patterns. AN AGNOSTIC SOLUTION As technology makes time march faster, nowhere is the pace quicker than in financial markets, where advances occur at exponential speed with Fintech firms popping up almost every week to offer the buy side ways to optimise their trading and workflow management. However, some of these independent technology experts that are willing to navigate the client through the seemingly complex paradigm of trading technology are too closely connected with the sell side for comfort. The ideal solution may lie in an agnostic middle ground, where all of these elements can be united. Just as Amazon brought buyers and sellers together on the same portal, FX platforms are creating a symbiotic relationship between the liquidity provider, the liquidity taker and the technology solution. Instead of being on the outside, that combination has brought asset managers front and centre. This article also appeared on Global Investor. 14 July 2021 XTX Markets’ Execution Algo Now On BidFX Algo Hub Media & Industry News NEW YORK / LONDON / SINGAPORE, July 14, 2021 – BidFX and XTX Markets are pleased to announce the full roll-out of XTX Markets Execution Algo on BidFX Algo Hub. It is an implementation shortfall execution algorithm that BidFX clients can now access as algorithmic trading in FX continues to increase. BidFX Chief Revenue Officer, John McGrath commented: “XTX Markets is one of the largest market makers in the world and their expertise in market microstructure and the reduction of signalling and information leakage aligns with our client’s sophisticated requirements in regulatory, functional and execution strategies. XTX Execution Algo went live on BidFX during 2020 in an initial targeted client roll-out and has the ability to reduce slippage to arrival price. We are happy to see increasing usage of this algo across our global client base in 2021 as well as making it available for clients to add to their Algo Wheel.” Matt Clarke, Head of Distribution and Liquidity Management for EMEA at XTX Markets, commented: ‘We are pleased to expand our relationship with BidFX through their hosting of our execution algo and are delighted at the strong uptake from clients already. We look forward to continuing to give BidFX’s clients access to our low impact, market leading liquidity and further strengthening their algo platform as a result.’ About XTX Markets XTX Markets is a leading financial technology firm which partners with counterparties, exchanges and e-trading venues globally to provide liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income and Commodity markets. XTX has over 150 employees based in London, Paris, New York, Mumbai and Singapore. XTX is the 3rd largest FX liquidity provider globally and the largest eSpot FX liquidity provider globally (Euromoney 2020) and also the largest European equities (systematic internaliser) liquidity provider in 2020 (Rosenblatt FY 2020). In a changing world XTX Markets is at the forefront of making financial markets fairer and more efficient for all. www.xtxmarkets.com 20 April 2021 Commerzbank AG Adds FX Algo Strategies To BidFX Media & Industry News BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange (FX) trading solutions, today announced that Commerzbank AG, the leading bank for the German Mittelstand and a strong partner for corporate and institutional clients, has made its five FX algorithmic strategies available on the BidFX platform. Clients can now access Commerzbank’s FX Algo Suite directly on BidFX. Each strategy offers a wide range of flexibility on executions suited to client requirements and trading preferences. Head of eTrading Services at Commerzbank, Nickolas Congdon, commented: “Commerzbank welcomes the opportunity to increase our electronic distribution of our FX orders service on BidFX. This allows us to continue to provide advanced technology, unique liquidity and analytics to our mutual clients”. Rory Sheen, Head of DACH Sales, BidFX BidFX Head of DACH Sales, Rory Sheen, commented: “It’s exciting to see the continued growth of our global relationship with Commerzbank via the integration of their algo suite, which is largely being driven by our asset management clientele. As buyside market participants continue to increase their usage of FX algos to source the best liquidity and execute efficiently for their end investors, Commerzbank’s algo strategies are a welcome addition to the BidFX algo hub”, he adds. Now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), market leading fintech firm BidFX specialises in liquidity aggregation across OTC and listed foreign exchange products. 15 April 2021 One-Two Punch: New BidFX Offering Solves Data Access And Storage Challenges And Bolsters Liquidity Analysis In Equal Measure By Daniel Chambers, Head of Data & Analytics at BidFX As participants in a massive and highly competitive market, foreign exchange traders need access to cutting-edge tools to remain competitive and effectively source liquidity. At BidFX, we strive to meet this need through our powerful technology suite, which includes our EMS platform, risk and compliance modules and transaction cost analysis (TCA), among other functionalities. These offerings have helped numerous clients streamline processes and take greater control of their trading, but on their own they still don’t tell the whole story. With fluctuating investor sentiments, a shifting regulatory landscape and a dizzying 24-hour news cycle, all of which impact the trading and post-trade reporting landscape, institutional investors now more than ever need access to fast, reliable market data and analytics. Of course, as with most things related to market data, that’s easier said than done. Building a data repository that traders can easily tap into and analyze comes with significant storage costs and infrastructure challenges, making it an incredibly painful process. At the same time, buy-side entities need to ensure they are always receiving the highest-quality executions. These challenges are present in all markets, but the higher level of volatility often seen in the FX space - due to the fragmentation and its OTC nature - means that the ability to evaluate counterparties with precision and in real time is even more critical than usual. We believe our latest offering, BidFX Data & Analytics, offers an innovative solution. This new suite empowers traders at hedge funds and asset managers to efficiently harness, normalize and analyze both intraday and historical FX data, providing them with crucial insights. Our Data & Analytics offering consists of several distinct products that all play a role in maximizing liquidity. Some of these have to do with client data, such as the collection and cloud storage of client-specific liquidity provider streams and other data they receive from their counterparties. This frees clients from the burden of housing and normalizing this data – they can simply query a bespoke, easy-to-use database to reveal insights and refine their strategies. This goes hand-in-hand with our liquidity provision analytics (LPA) tools, which enable clients to compare counterparties based on the liquidity they are providing and make decisions accordingly. In addition, clients can use this data to back test and continually improve their trading and execution models. Our ability to store and present client data in a user-friendly manner eliminates a number of pain points for trading firms. Delivery through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model means clients do not need to dedicate development resources or server space to gain a comprehensive window into their trading. We do the work to ensure this data is collected with speed and precision. Clients can easily access it through our API, allowing them to focus on what they do best: generating alpha. Speaking of alpha, another key aspect of Data & Analytics is our composite quote values for various currency pairs, volume sizes and the like, powered by our proprietary algorithm and created from firm and tradeable market pricing. Clients can weigh this data against LPA metrics for their own trading to gain a clearer view of how they are performing relative to the market. What’s more, because this product takes an industry-wide view and does not require the integration of client streams, it is not limited to existing BidFX trading platform clients – any firm that wants to take a more analytical approach to benchmarking, back-testing, risk management etc. can benefit. As a former buy-side trader myself, I am keenly aware of the difficulties that funds face in setting up proprietary solutions in these areas. When your team is laser-focused on maximizing returns for clients, it’s difficult to allocate the time and resources – everyone is simply spread too thin. The ability to more easily integrate user-friendly data and analytics into workflows would have made a huge impact on our ability to make execution decisions and time the market. While my last shop was an FX-focused fund, Data & Analytics can serve the same purpose at more conventional buy-side shops where FX trades are typically made for hedging purposes. No matter why you’re in this space, accessible data and benchmarking capabilities can take your team to the next level. These aren’t your average composite values either – the richness and quality of our underlying data means Data & Analytics provides a level of precision that is unparalleled in the FX space, especially when it comes to less developed currency pairs. Our composite data for non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) is particularly robust (note these are also streaming prices) and has transformative potential for firms in this historically opaque market. In recent years, institutional investors have increased their exposure to emerging markets and, accordingly, their hedging requirements, making this offering especially timely. In addition to NDFs, we provide composite spot and forwards quotes data and more than 60 currency pairs in G10 and emerging markets, so traders face few limits on what they can do with Data & Analytics. This links back to BidFX’s singular focus on providing solutions for FX traders. This space is our sole focus, and our long-term engagement with it means we have a uniquely deep understanding of the market dynamics and pain points that define it. BidFX Data & Analytics may be an exciting new offering, but it’s also an extension of what we’ve been doing for years: delivering powerful technology solutions, backed by the knowhow and resources of some of the biggest names in the global trading industry, to financial institutions trading FX. We look forward to putting this expertise to work in a new way and helping clients enhance and improve their order execution and liquidity management. Interested in learning more? Get in touch with us. 9 March 2021 BidFX Launches Multifaceted Data And Analytics Suite For FX Trading Media & Industry News NEW YORK / LONDON / SINGAPORE, March 9, 2021 – BidFX, a leading cloud-based provider of electronic FX trading solutions for institutions and a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX Group, today announced the launch of BidFX Data and Analytics. This new offering is the latest addition to BidFX’s powerful suite of offerings for financial institutions, which includes an EMS platform, risk and compliance modules and transaction cost analysis (TCA). With this expansion, banks, hedge funds and asset managers can access tools to manage the collection and cloud storage of client-specific liquidity streams, as well as monitor composite rates across multiple FX products. This gives institutional players a comprehensive view of the pricing, market impact and liquidity for every transaction. Daniel Chambers, Global Head of Data & Analytics, BidFX “The ability to efficiently harness, normalise and analyse FX data has become increasingly vital for refining execution strategies and evaluating counterparties,” said Daniel Chambers, BidFX Global Head of Data and Analytics. “The launch of this product arms our clients with tools to provide valuable insights in real time. Today, having a secure platform is not enough; traders need access to fast and reliable market data and analytics. The latest expansion of the BidFX suite greatly streamlines market analysis, liquidity provision, back-testing and more, making it an essential addition to any FX trader’s toolkit.” 26 February 2021 What'S Next For FX: In Conversation With Matthew Reid, SimCorp And John McGrath, BidFX From the Management, Media & Industry News Foreword by Matthew Reid, Product Manager, Director of SimCorp’s Order Manager solution. Matthew Reid, Simcorp With its far-reaching remit, MiFID II reshaped European institutional financial markets, with a series of measures that sought to address and improve Over The Counter (OTC) market transparency. Following the third anniversary of this landmark regulation, we take a look at the subsequent impact on the Foreign Exchange (FX) market, including rapid electronification, which has seen FX become one of the world’s most electronically traded asset-classes. With an average of 80% of global transactions traded electronically, the FX market covers a number of instruments from Deliverable and Non-Deliverable FX forwards and Swaps, FX Options, and other FX derivatives, all of which come under the MiFID II instrument classification. Since 2018 and instigated by the European regulation, FX desks have made the move from a heavily manual order and execution process, to ensure an operationally effective approach that can demonstrate best execution and transaction reporting, while also accessing algorithms to enable an alternative source of liquidity to the classic RFQ approach. At the same time, the market has adopted innovation, in the form of cloud platforms, machine learning and even AI-enhanced workflows that work hand in hand with human talent. While in the past, regulation may have been one driver for change, this year we have seen an altogether different force at play. The turbulence caused by the global pandemic had a significant impact on the FX market, creating unprecedented levels of volatility. The global uncertainty that ensued, led to a vicious cycle of dwindling appetite for risk and diminishing liquidity. While no market was left unturned, electronic trading provided some relief at least for FX, proving itself capable of delivering the scale needed, as firms found themselves both stretched by peak trading volumes and physically scattered across the world. What is interesting is that while FX desks had the advantage of electronic trading and algos, over other asset classes, the crisis earlier in the year also saw a return to voice calls, as long-standing sell-side relationships were called upon in the scramble for liquidity. According to Greenwich Associates[1], two-thirds of FX market participants interviewed in their recent study said relationships became more important during the COVID-19 crisis, as the entire the FX ecosystem underwent a plunge in liquidity. While the two approaches – voice and electronic – may seem at odds with each other, Ken Monahan, Greenwich Associates summarizes that: “In reality, both can be true at the same time. The crisis demonstrated that, in extreme volatility, market participants need both relationships they can count on and effective alternative tools for sourcing liquidity and executing trades.” Although much of the FX market has now returned to a new normal, with FX desks operating in a remote working COVID-19 environment, many firms including those lagging behind, are beginning to understand the value of electronification or digitalization, from execution and liquidity sourcing, to Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) and more. At the same time, the rise of the OEMS, where Order Manager and Execution Management systems are consolidated to deliver firms a rich and holistic front office suite, has also demonstrated its ability to achieve improved operational efficiency, a valuable commodity under extreme market duress. The combination of OEMS workflows has not only reduced manual processes, but more importantly delivered centralized, real-time, reliable access to data across portfolios and asset classes, empowered by an Investment Book of Record (IBOR). If the pandemic demonstrated anything to trading desks and portfolio managers, it is that this critical feature, is less a nice-to-have and more a strategic necessity, enabling firms to response rapidly to market events, and to the deluge of market data, which continues to add complexity. The question remains, what lies ahead for the FX market as it attempts to lift itself out of the quagmire of 2020. Here, John McGrath, Chief Revenue Officer at BidFX, discusses the realities of the FX market today, and what it takes to achieve a consolidated OEMS workflow that can see firms through market volatility and deliver the operational resilience needed to ride out future events. The growth of FX in long-only institutional investment Matthew Reid: If we look at the growth of FX in long-only global institutions, it has mostly been used as a hedging exercise. More recently though, we’ve seen active trading grow steadily, as many investors are forced to go outside their domestic market to seek liquidity. It seems the need for scale has become considerable. What is your view on this? John McGrath, BidFX John McGrath: Yes its true, the FX market has seen significant growth in recent years with Average Daily Volume (ADV) up from $4.3 trillion in 2009 to $6.7 trillion in 2019, according to the BIS surveys. Within this 10 year period long-only institutional investors have increasingly added more and more sophisticated technology to cater for the advanced needs of underlying investors, based on liquidity and regulatory/best execution concerns. For example a large buy-side firm with a centralized dealing desk and a fully integrated OEMS finds e-forex lends itself naturally to the integration of credit and trade limits, as well as capturing the best execution data required for underlying investors and TCA analysis. One of the drivers for this growth in ADV has been the rise in FX Swaps as the preferred instrument of the long-only community. Its benefits as a hedging and currency management tool are well known and it is now well established across the market with deep liquidity and full integration from technology providers. However this community has also seen increased adoption of a variety of other FX deal types in the past year, in particular FX algos, which saw a large growth in March this year, as the buy side look to use them more readily in times of market stress. The increase in spreads also saw algo usage grow from existing algo users, with many new users adopting it as an active strategy during the volatile market. Matthew Reid: With this growth in mind, if we look at the rise of electronification and the automation it has created, there have been benefits realized for the buy side, such as optimized workflows. But what are some of the existing FX pain points that available solutions and services need to tackle, to turn those into opportunities too? John McGrath: There is no doubt that COVID-19 has accelerated the roll out of new technology to respond to pain points being experienced by the buy side previously. Automation has long been an area long-only institutions have looked to achieve, in order to increase efficiency and optimize investment workflows. The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote working has seen FX follow other asset classes with an increased usage of automation across standard deal types and even to more sophisticated areas, like FX algo wheels. At the same time EMS platforms have seen high demand for automation within spreads, pricing, limits and volume, together with the need for closer integration with sophisticated OMS platforms, to ensure clients are well serviced in this area and delivered a holistic front office solution. The market has reacted and with good resilience regarding automation and has demonstrated not only business continuity, but actually increased roll out of new technology despite remote working. With a widespread change in thinking towards remote working, as we have seen from many of the big institutions announcing future plans, this trend will continue and enterprise technology firms are well placed to respond to this demand. That said, one pain point that that very few existing solutions and services have nailed, is the coverage of a multi-asset class EMS working in conjunction with a multi-asset class OMS. Achieving this really comes into its own, as the work being invested in one asset class can be rolled out across other asset classes. More importantly having one multi-asset view of your positions, holdings and cash across public and private markets, and strategies such as emerging markets FX, offers firms a clear advantage when it comes to investment decision making and risk management. Other areas of growth in recent years that are being tackled by EMS/OMS providers and the buy side at large include the growth of algo usage and the increasing sophistication of TCA in FX. It seems most institutional investors now trust the leading EMS’s to deliver a total algo package, which integrates with their LP’s algo suite and allows them to manage this order flow along the lines of their standard risk and automated trades. Algo flow rose dramatically during the initial stages of lockdown this year (March/April), as the buy side looked for some form of comfort in a volatile and high-volume period. Another feature of algo development has been the implementation of more deal types, with Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) algos seeing a large area of growth, as many of the sophisticated institutions looked to manage their more difficult non G10 liquidity requirements. TCA has seen a similar surge in growth, with long-only institutions investing in OEMS technology, which has allowed TCA to really deliver some demonstratable results. This investment combined with an agnostic integration to 3rd party providers at an EMS level, has enabled institutions to make large strides in FX TCA. Working as a partnership, both Institutional investors and EMS, OMS providers with experience in this product, now have a real source of data in, which to monitor fiduciary responsibilities to their investors. Going forward the willingness and shared roadmap of leading multi-asset OEMS integrations, such as SimCorp and TradingScreen, have a real opportunity to drive product advancement in conjunction with their institutional clients, and this will be key to the continued growth in this area. Matthew Reid: If we look at addressing multi-asset class coverage, rather than approaching FX in isolation, an approach many desks take, what developments are taking place in the market and at BidFX to facilitate firms with this? In the long run, we believe those providers that can demonstrate a fully integrated OEMS, with multi-asset class coverage and a shared roadmap that also speaks to the key topics in FX; automation, TCA and algo usage, will be able to offer institutional investors the most comprehensive approach to FX. By consolidating FX with other asset classes in the investment chain, particularly in the front office where the default has been to run it on point systems, FX desks can pool analytics and trading strategies, as well understand their exposure to risk in real-time. An example of this is the recent acquisition of BidFX by the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) , which has now enabled the integration of OTC and Listed FX, positively impacting many more investment processes beyond pure execution, including UMR. The approach we have taken at BidFX to respond to the market need has really been about creating alliances and partnerships with leading providers of buy-side technology. It is our belief that the combined expertise between an enterprise and best of breed provider, together with engaged client feedback can create a strong solution enabling institutional investors to not only trust their technology but drive the maximum value out of it, to deliver returns. As a result, we are very excited to continue to develop the alliance with SimCorp and our mutual clients by offering technology such as the support of partial fills within the OEMS framework. This allows clients the ability to gain better control of their FX flow and ultimately better returns for their investors. This is also demonstrated in our continued investment in the TCA space, which will be seamless in our integration with SimCorp. It is a very exciting time to be involved in such an alliance and working with clients to help deliver solutions that reduce pain points and deliver real benefits in their investment operations. [1] *COVID-19 Shocks Will Continue to Shape Future FX Market Structure, (October 2020), Joan Weber, Greenwich Associates Article first published on Traders Magazine 8 December 2020 BidFX Expands Algo Hub, Adds State Street'S Algorithms To Platform Media & Industry News NEW YORK / LONDON / SINGAPORE - December 8, 2020 – BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange (FX) trading solutions, today announced that State Street, one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, has made its four FX algorithmic strategies available on the BidFX platform. Clients can now access State Street’s FX Algo Suite directly on BidFX. Each strategy offers a wide range of flexibility on executions suited to client requirements and trading preferences. Mary Leung, Global Head of Client Algos at State Street commented, “Heightened market volatility caused an unprecedented increase in FX algo volumes back in March, proving that algos are a valuable tool for clients to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of their execution. With State Street’s unique franchise liquidity, our versatile suite of algorithms are designed to adapt to our clients’ execution style and philosophy, bringing unparalleled value to their performance. As part of our continued commitment to our clients, we’re delighted to expand our algo offering onto BidFX.” Scott Gold, BidFX Head of Americas Sales commented, “BidFX has had a long-standing relationship with State Street and it’s exciting to see State Street extending their integration with BidFX through the addition of their four FX algorithmic strategies. Given the premium put on liquidity due to the current circumstances in global markets, our clients have been utilizing more algorithmic strategies to execute efficiently. With that in mind, having the addition of State Street’s algos will deliver further value to the BidFX client base. We therefore welcome State Street as the latest algo provider on BidFX”, he adds. 29 October 2020 BidFX Partners With C8 Technologies To Offer Tradable FX Indexes Media & Industry News London / Singapore, 29 October 2020 - BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange trading solutions, today announced its partnership with C8 Technologies, the direct indexing pioneer, which will enable asset managers to undertake direct indexing via their chosen relationship banks, available on the BidFX system. This will allow C8’s tradable FX indexes to be tracked and executed directly on the BidFX platform. Initially, the C8 FX Combination Index, a monthly-trading, systematically-weighted aggregate of C8’s FX macro and risk-premia indexes will be available, with more to follow, including AI-driven FX indexes. BidFX Head of EMEA Sales, Roger Lee, commented: “Beyond the algo suite and execution tools, which traders are familiar with on BidFX, the C8 indexes add a new avenue for our asset manager clients to explore, as they seek long term alpha from forex as an asset class. This is a highly innovative partnership of leading technology solutions and we expect the relationship and client uptake to flourish.” C8’s CEO Mattias Eriksson said: “We believe that C8 partnering with BidFX, and their cutting-edge FX execution platform, will make for a powerful combination. As direct indexing pioneers, we can make it easy for asset owners to replicate the performance of our indexes, by trading the underlying positions, through BidFX. We are delighted that our FX indices will be integrated into the BidFX platform, for seamless trading by users.” View fullsize About C8 Technologies C8 Technologies www.c8-technologies.com provides direct access to active and passive, tradable indices developed by leading investment professionals and in house. Institutional and professional investors can get the performance of any institutional-grade investment style by directly trading the underlying assets, at lower cost, with their own broker. Our patented process is unique in the financial markets, bringing many advantages to the asset owner including holding onto their own capital, full transparency on the underlying holdings and full control of trading, which allows for customisation at will. By using C8, an asset owner can increase capital efficiency and avoid ongoing costs of operational due diligence. For C8 related enquiries: Jonathan Webb, C8 Technologies | E: jwebb@c8-technologies.com, P: +44 20 3826 0050 Media - Anthony Shewell, Fin International | E: a.shewell@fininternational.com, P: +44 7836 293351 Media - Ivo Forde, Fin International | E: ivo.forde@fininternational.com, P: +44 771 364 2828 For BidFX related enquiries: Roger Lee, BidFX Head of EMEA Sales | E: roger.lee@bidfx.com, P: +44 20 7149 3141 Media - Elaine Chia | E: elaine.chia@bidfx.com, P: +65 8322 3660 22 October 2020 How Has Technology Changed The Dynamics Of FX Trading From the Management “ I do not think technology can replace the instincts and experience of a good trader or the excellent service that many forward-looking LPs provide to their clients. Instead, I believe backend automation opens more possibilities for traders... — Alan Dweck, Chief Operating Officer These strange times have created many challenges for both foreign exchange (FX) markets and their participants. But they have also highlighted how vital technology has become to our trading activities. Now that working from home has become common practice due to COVID-19, our reliance on technology is greater than ever. The merging of the home and workspace is a direction we have been travelling towards for a while, especially when markets became truly 24-hour affairs. With skyrocketing trading volumes, participants need technology to react swiftly to market changes that occur outside standard office hours. Besides secure access, speed of access and reliable performance are also essential to keeping funds intact in the event of unexpected news in the middle of the night. Remote logging into work computers from home is possible but prone to performance issues, and without an Infosys team on standby, it becomes necessary for office trading systems to penetrate the home. I cannot remember a time when technology has ever been more vital. The challenges of working from home with little or no office-based support have shown us that markets are heavily dependent on technology to provide solutions to modern trading problems. Let’s look at trends that are shaping the FX trading industry. Raising value via automation There has been a fear of automation rendering humans obsolete in workplaces; however, in the case of financial services markets, I do not think technology can replace the instincts and experience of a good trader or the excellent service that many forward-looking liquidity providers (LPs) provide to their clients. Instead, I believe backend automation opens more possibilities for traders by enabling them to concentrate on providing the most value whenever and wherever they are. Flexible yet controllable automation is the key: automated minor, routine processes save you time and energy, but also provide oversight and control if something goes wrong. For example, a modern buy-side institution requires different systems to be talking to one another, and this was traditionally achieved through integration and communication protocols like FIX. Today, you can use an application programming interface (API) to let a program talk directly to your FX execution management system (EMS) and automate order workflows. The FX EMS can interpret orders as they arrive and understand what to do, monitor market conditions and automatically handle and execute smaller orders at the best prevailing price if the conditions are right. A buy-side institution may also want some orders to be sent to more sophisticated algorithms (algos). With automation, the system can automatically distribute algo orders fairly across an LP panel – according to ratios under the institution’s control – and monitor fills from each bank’s algo, allowing the algo’s performance and subsequent value to be impartially evaluated and reported to investors. One aspect where automation makes a significant difference is in preventing information leakage. While often framed in terms of last look and stream versus Request for Quotes (RFQ), the fundamental problem is really about telegraphing your intentions to other entities ahead of completing execution. In FX markets, there is a unique dichotomy where the entity that is traditionally used to ‘leave instruction’ for a trade is also the ‘counterparty’ to the trade. That is a bit like asking a lion to look after a meat store. There were few alternatives to manual execution in the past, but now, traders can use an automated solution that works stealthily across all available LPs 24 hours a day. Streamlining with web technologies Online technologies are a game-changer because they provide a simplified user experience and universal access without having to download and install complex applications. You simply need to log in from a browser to begin. On the back end, the benefits are more pronounced: the overhead costs to run, support and offer trading services from these systems are significantly reduced. It also enhances business continuity as staff can still access the systems from any device with Internet connectivity even without being in the office. What is perhaps most interesting is that there are now technologies available that make a commonality possible between different systems using similar web-based technologies; a secured ‘bus’ that can be used for applications to communicate with each other. Such technologies offer the prospect of integration and communication happening across applications on the desktop without the need for the traditionally large, backend project that often involves bespoke connectivity, software integration and complex security considerations. Tapping into mobile technology advancements Devices and their technologies also play a significant part in this digital transformation of FX trading, and there is perhaps no greater agent of change than the smartphone. Mobile technologies are rapidly altering the way we interact with each other and with the markets by providing constant, seamless access to markets while we are on the go. When coupled with proper use of biometrics such as face recognition, which are now a common feature of mobile phones, they become a safe, secure trading environment that offer unparalleled ease of access. Mobile apps and web platforms make trading possible even without access to a laptop or a computer; simply open your phone, log in to the app or platform, select your trade and execute it. Checking the market status is even easier and can be done within minutes anywhere. In the meantime, compliance controls and limits are all still working to protect the trader, investor and firm – creating a win-win situation for all parties. If we think about it, it is amazing that despite financial centres having to shut down more or less overnight due to the pandemic, we can continue trading and running complex strategies without missing a beat because of all these different technologies and solutions. Zero downtime in some of the choppiest market conditions we have ever seen; this is something that would have been completely unthinkable just 10 years ago. I think I speak for all my colleagues – in the widest sense of the word – when I say that I personally am proud to have had a very small part in enabling that to happen. This article first appeared on TabbFORUM: Currencies & Commodities Opinion & Analysis 15 October 2020 Preparing To Spin Out With Jean-Philippe Malé From the Management In this exclusive interview with Adam Toms, CEO of OpenFin Europe, Jean-Philippe Malé spoke about his personal journey with intrapreneurship, moving to Singapore and BidFX disrupting the FX market with not just new technologies, but also by being the humans of FX. OpenFin MVP Podcast: Jean-Philippe Malé OpenFin 17 September 2020 BidFX Releases Flagship FX Desktop Trading Application On OpenFin Media & Industry News London/New York/Singapore/Hong Kong/Australia - BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange trading solutions, today announced a significant addition to its product range delivered via OpenFin, the operating system (OS) of finance. BidFX now offers a desktop-installed web application supporting the layout of window-based components that interoperate securely and seamlessly across a trader's multi-screen workstation. This initiative comes at a time when the demand to trade securely from anywhere is ever increasing, especially with many traders now working remotely. Jean-Philippe Malé, CEO of BidFX, said: "The latest web and cloud technology offers improved flexibility over traditional fat-client applications when developing world-class user interfaces, resulting in faster time to market for new features. Alongside this the market is now asking for that extra layer of development and functional maturity that continues to build confidence in trading over the cloud.” He added: “BidFX’s history and vision is built upon being a leader in technological advancements in the FX electronic trading world. Building on OpenFin enables us to continue to invest in creating a rich multi-window FX trading experience that combines the best attributes of the desktop and web applications.” By selecting OpenFin's secure, fintech-ready container as our delivery platform, BidFX has addressed institutional traders' concerns over cloud adoption, web browser compatibility, internet security and screen space limitations. Adam Toms, European CEO of OpenFin, added: “Having a digital desktop strategy has become increasingly important in supporting remote working practices, especially as many traders have moved from six screens to two or three. More than ever, they need to be able to link applications seamlessly across multi-screen workstations and have access to the right workflow tools while minimizing the screen real estate they consume. We are delighted to welcome BidFX to our ecosystem of users and look forward to our collaboration.” About OpenFin Move Fast. Break Nothing. OpenFin is the financial industry's operating system, enabling digital transformation and simplifying app distribution to financial desktops. Used by the largest industry players through to the newest of FinTech innovators, OpenFin deploys more than 1,200 desktop applications across 225,000 desktops in more than 1,500 buy-side and sell-side firms in 60+ countries. OpenFin investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Barclays, CME Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, NYCA Partners, Pivot Investment Partners and Wells Fargo among others. The company has offices in New York and London. https://openfin.co 20 August 2020 Global Prime Partners BidFX To Reduce Overnight Funding Rates By Over 50% Media & Industry News Sydney, Australia - August 20, 2020 - Australian-based Global Prime (www.globalprime.com) partners with institutional FX solutions provider BidFX to expand and centralise access to the interbank funding market. The solution has reduced overnight funding rates (swaps) for its retail and institutional clients by over 50%. Liquidity in funding markets has become increasingly fragile, and as a result of the volatility in swap points, both retail and institutional clients face more expensive funding of overnight exposures. This problem is exacerbated when a single prime broker or ‘prime of prime’ determines the rate, and the broker/client has little choice but to execute at that price. Market leading Fintech firm BidFX specialises in liquidity aggregation across a range of OTC markets including spot and forward FX, NDFs, Precious Metals, deliverable and non-deliverable swaps providing best execution across a range of negotiation protocols. Global Prime took up the BidFX solution to streamline direct access to the tier-1 banks who make up the interbank market via the BidFX workflow architecture. This means visibility of and access to the best overnight rates via a centralised platform. Head of Trading and Institutional for Global Prime, Elan Bension stated “Our partnership with BidFX has seen an immediate and significant improvement in the rates we provide our institutional and retail clients. It’s a real edge for the company that has opened the doors to new opportunities. We couldn’t be happier with the impact this has had on the business.” BidFX Head of Australia Sales, David Catterick commented: “Global Prime’s decision to partner with BidFX reinforces our unrivaled capabilities in meeting clients continued demands as well as providing improved efficiencies and significant cost savings to end clients.” Global Prime clients are the real beneficiary of the new partnership. The significantly tighter swap spreads mean greater profit potential for traders through increased swap earnings or reduced swap costs. The improved setup which has been live since April 2020 has seen the average spread (bid/ask swap rates) reduce by over 50%. About Global Prime Sydney headquartered Forex and CFD provider Global Prime aims to set a new standard in online trading through the promotion of trading conditions that empower traders. Traders chose Global Prime for its world class pricing and execution, institutional grade post-trade transparency as proof that Global Prime does not trade against its clients, and it’s focus on community interaction through its public Discord chatroom, where Global Prime and its clients talk trading and markets 24/7. CFD trading is high risk and is not suitable for everyone. Please review the Global Prime PDS, available from our website, to ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading. Enquiries: Web: www.globalprime.com, Email: marketing@globalprime.com, Ph: +61 (2) 8379 3622 Global Prime Pty Ltd, ABN 74 146 086 017, holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL no.385620) to carry out financial services in Australia. 29 June 2020 SGX To Fully Acquire BidFX, Advancing Its Global Ambitions To Offer End-To-End FX Platform And Solutions Media & Industry News Acquisition will accelerate momentum to establish SGX as a one-stop venue for international FX OTC and futures participants Continued revenue growth in BidFX driven by record trading volumes and onboarding of new clients Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia’s most international multi-asset exchange and largest FX derivatives marketplace, today announced that it would acquire the remaining 80%[1] stake in BidFX from its other shareholder(s) for a cash consideration[2] of approximately US$128 million – a move that would expand SGX’s reach beyond FX futures into the global FX over-the-counter (OTC) market. As part of its multi-asset strategy to build FX into another core pillar of growth, SGX first acquired a 20% stake in BidFX in March 2019, with the aim of bringing together FX futures with OTC markets. The synergies between SGX and BidFX, coupled with the opportunity to support international FX participants from pre-trade data and analytics, trade execution to post-trade clearing, propelled SGX to purchase the remaining stake. The transaction to fully acquire BidFX is expected to be completed in July 2020[3]. BidFX, a leading cloud-based FX trading platform for institutional investors, has seen record trading volumes in recent quarters. Since BidFX’s establishment in January 2017, average daily volumes have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57% to US$31 billion in May 2020. BidFX continues to acquire new clients, with over 100 of the world’s largest banks, hedge funds and asset managers currently connected to its platform. The FX market is the largest financial market in the world, with average daily turnover in the OTC market amounting to US$6.6 trillion[4] by traded volume. By comparison, the size of the exchange-traded FX derivatives market is only about 2% of the OTC market – presenting significant opportunities for SGX to build on its dominance in Asian FX futures to expand into a much larger global OTC FX market. Loh Boon Chye, Chief Executive Officer of SGX, said, “The future of FX lies in the ability for market participants to benefit from price discovery, liquidity and transparency for both OTC and listed futures trading, in a single unified venue. BidFX is ahead of the curve in developing sophisticated electronic FX trading and workflow solutions. With BidFX as part of the SGX Group, we can now serve a wider FX community with more comprehensive solutions and enhanced distribution capabilities, while bringing together the two growing and mutually-reinforcing pools of liquidity.” Jean-Philippe Malé, CEO of BidFX, said, “We are delighted to join the SGX group of companies and combine forces with the largest FX futures marketplace in Asia. We will be, amongst other plans, expanding our coverage to include FX futures, which gives sophisticated investors a hedge to access the broader market across OTC and futures liquidity pools. As we continue to grow, we look forward to contributing to Singapore’s success as a central FX liquidity hub in Asia.” BidFX was previously a subsidiary of TradingScreen, which had been incubating BidFX and spun it off in 2017. Pierre Schroeder, CEO of TradingScreen, said, “We’ve purposefully focused our efforts and resources on our best opportunities for growth and this has led to exceptional results, such as the BidFX sale being announced today. TradingScreen clients will continue to have access to BidFX via its multi-asset TradeSmart® application.” Since the start of this year, BidFX’s global clients have been able to trade across both OTC and futures FX markets, with the option to have bilateral counterparty or centrally cleared FX exposures, all in a single venue with an integrated workflow management system. SGX’s FX futures franchise continues to grow from strength to strength, with US$3.8 trillion in traded volumes since it started in November 2013. Last year, SGX launched FlexC FX Futures, an innovative feature that allows market participants to trade customisable FX futures in an OTC manner and clear transactions on SGX. The combination of SGX and BidFX’s expertise, client and distribution network and products will scale up the successes of both firms in this space and advance SGX’s global ambitions to offer end-to-end FX platform and solutions. [1] On a fully diluted basis and subject to execution of binding agreements with certain minority shareholders [2] Refer to SGX official communication for more details [3] Subject to fulfilment of certain conditions precedent [4] Source: BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey 2019 (www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx19_fx.htm) END About BidFX BidFX is a leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange trading solutions for the global financial marketplace. BidFX clients have access to broker-neutral order and execution management services, which delivers them customised liquidity in all Foreign Exchange products from their banks and other providers. BidFX provides firms with a cutting-edge workflow solution ensuring Best Execution while encompassing a complete suite of negotiation protocols and tools. For more information, please visit: www.bidfx.com. About Singapore Exchange Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, operating equity, fixed income, commodities and FX markets to the highest regulatory standards. As Asia’s most international, multi-asset exchange, SGX provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services, with about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore. SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN and offers commodities and currency derivatives products. Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities. For more information, please visit www.sgx.com. Media Contacts Singapore Exchange Ho Lily Marketing & Communications +65 9784 9290 lily.ho@sgx.com 10 June 2020 BidFX Enhances Mobile App To Boost Remote Trading Media & Industry News “ The ability to work orders on the go is an invaluable tool to our traders through these unprecedented times. Thanks to this latest version of the BidFX mobile app, we can continue to perform at an optimum. — Marko Stanojevic, Vice President of NDF Trading, Dax Partners London / Singapore / New York – June 10, 2020 – BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange (FX) trading solutions, today announced a major upgrade to its mobile app to meet growing demand from market participants to securely manage and trade their spot FX, forward and NDF positions when working remotely. The latest version of the app enables traders to track and amend orders originally entered into office desktop computers via their mobile phones. This enhancement comes at a welcome time for the industry, as certain financial institutions finalise plans to move some staff back to a COVID-19 safe office environment, while others continue to work remotely. Other new features include standard tenors and broken dates, the ability to create and amend stop orders, and the capability to change limit orders so remote traders can keep up to speed on how close they are to executing a trade. Commenting on the newly enhanced app, Alan Dweck, Chief Operating Officer at BidFX, said: “This unprecedented health crisis is splitting office and remote working. As some of the worlds largest financial institutions adjust their working practices to fit this new environment, it is imperative FX technology keeps apace. This latest version of our app provides traders with the full desktop FX trading experience directly from their mobile.” Marko Stanojevic, Vice President of NDF Trading at Dax Partners added: "The ability to work orders on the go is an invaluable tool to our traders through these unprecedented times. Thanks to this latest version of the BidFX mobile app, we can continue to perform at an optimum." The latest version of the BidFX mobile app is available now. To learn more, contact a BidFX representative. Email: sales@bidfx.com 6 May 2020 BidFX Expands Further Into Frontier Markets, Adds ICBC Standard Media & Industry News LONDON / NEW YORK / SINGAPORE, 6 May, 2020 – BidFX welcomes global markets banking specialist ICBC Standard as the newest liquidity provider on the leading FX EMS. BidFX, an industry trading and workflow management solution for institutional FX clients, is delighted to announce that ICBC Standard has joined as their newest liquidity provider. BidFX Head of EMEA Sales, Roger Lee, commented: “As the latest BIS survey on FX indicates, currencies of emerging market economies (EMEs) are gaining market share, reaching 25% of overall global turnover. To that extent, it has become increasingly evident that electronic provision of EM liquidity, both deliverable and non-deliverable (NDF), has become a must.” Roger Lee Head of EMEA Sales “With that in mind, having the addition of a ‘frontiers pairs’ FX specialist such as ICBC Standard will be valued by the BidFX client base. We therefore welcome ICBC Standard as the latest provider on BidFX”, he adds. Simon Goldberg, Director Corporate & Banks Sales, ICBC Standard Bank Plc, commented: “We look forward to partnering with the BidFX team to distribute our emerging market liquidity. BidFX is a natural partner in the space given its client base. Its strategy fits well with our regional focus on Africa & Frontier Asia markets, in which we have a substantial network due to our unique shareholding structure. ICBC Standard Bank is able to offer competitive and complementary products where most major banks are not active.” 14 April 2020 BidFX Liquidity Offering Keeps Growing, Adds SEB Media & Industry News BidFX welcomes Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB); newest liquidity provider on the FX platform BidFX, an industry leading EMS designed for the 5 trillion daily FX market, is pleased to announce that SEB, one of the best-known Scandinavian banks, has joined BidFX as their newest liquidity provider. BidFX head of Nordic Sales, Peter Bondesen, commented, “The increased interest in our advanced EMS from Nordic financial institutions means greater demand for specialised, local liquidity. Many of our global clients have also requested SEB as a counterparty to provide bespoke liquidity both through streaming rates and RFQ”. SEB Head of e-FX distribution, Carolina Trujillo, noted “We are excited that becoming a liquidity provider on BidFX is enabling us to extend our reach and both follow existing clients as well as get access to new clients. As the leading liquidity provider in Scandinavian currencies, we want to be able to reach out to a wide variety of clients and offer access to our unique flow franchise”. BidFX CRO, John McGrath BidFX CRO, John McGrath, commented, “It’s great news to announce SEB is now live on BidFX. With such demand across our range of clients for SEB it will further enhance the liquidity on offer to our institutional clients both in the Nordics and around the world. We look forward to working closely with them, and other Liquidity Providers, to ensure we keep business as normal as is possible in these tumultuous times’. 31 March 2020 Recruiting During COVID-19 Lockdown From the Management We are all living through tough times. The world has locked down to fight the coronavirus. Economic activity has stagnated, and a deep recession will surely follow. In the immediate fallout, many good people are finding themselves out of work. At least the banks in the City are putting a pause to planned redundancy programmes until the crisis is over. The FinTech sector is generally surviving - touch wood - because employees can work remotely. In London, like in most affected cities, developers are hunkered down, self-isolated at home, mastering the art of collaboration over video conference and instant messaging. Agile development practices such as pair programming require some adjustment for these times where social distancing is mandatory. Remote screen sharing us helps achieve conformance to the required 2 metres of separation. So far the technology is holding up well. The Internet backbone has not melted down yet. Impressively, we recently staged a one hundred person town hall over Google Meet without a dropout. Rest assured the FX markets are not going away, no matter how severe the recession to come. When the virus has passed, and it will pass, world trade will pick up, investments will resume, and businesses will exchange currencies. BidFX is a growth company and will, therefore, strive to recruit great technology staff during the COVID-19 lockdown. BidFX are adapting to recruitment in the new reality of the pandemic. We are interviewing candidates by video. We are hiring from countries under effective quarantine, in the knowledge that our new joiner may have to work initially remote and potentially do so for months. We are shipping equipment to isolated staff and onboarding new teams at safe arm's length. As with everything we do, BidFX is learning much from experience, and we aim to come out of this crisis must stronger than we went in. Stay at home, protect healthcare workers and save lives. Then perhaps take the time to refresh your CV. Paul Sweeny - CTO 13 March 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) From the Management As awareness around the Coronavirus (COVID-19) heightens, we at BidFX remain committed to our employees, clients, and partners to provide the utmost care, safety, and well being during this time. As our industry continues to navigate through increasing travel and work-related restrictions, we offer best practices for business continuity. Current and prospective clients can access the full functionality of BidFX, allowing them to continue to trade and operate uninterrupted business remotely and securely. · With over 20 years of operating a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, we have well defined operational procedures around availability, latency, performance, efficiency, change management, monitoring, emergency response, and capacity planning. · Clients can also download the BidFX mobile app, which facilitates access to trading functionality to watch the market and manage their orders in real-time. Seamless integration across desktop and mobile devices, combined with an unrivalled security framework, will enable traders to access the FX trading platform on the go confidently. We will continue to monitor the ongoing situation at a global level closely and will keep you informed on any significant changes. At BidFX, we have also implemented business continuity plans internally to ensure our dedicated account management and support teams are available to ensure your business runs smoothly during any impending business changes and challenges that may arise. Please contact your dedicated Account Manager or the support desk with any questions or concerns you may have. 20 February 2020 BidFX Launches Mobile App To Provide Investment Managers 24/7 Access To Global Markets Media & Industry News London / Singapore / New York – 20th February, 2020 – BidFX, the leading cloud-based provider of electronic foreign exchange (FX) trading solutions, today announced the launch of a major upgrade to its mobile app to meet growing demand among hedge funds and asset managers to securely manage and trade their spot FX, forward and NDF positions anywhere in the world, at any time. Via global SAAS technology, mobile app users will be able to access BidFX’s trading functionality to watch the market and manage their orders in real-time. Seamless integration across desktop and mobile devices, combined with an unrivalled security framework, will enable traders to access the FX trading platform on the go confidently. Jean-Philippe Male, Chief Executive Officer at BidFX, said: “The FX market is constantly evolving to keep apace with new, disruptive technologies. And from being a taboo subject as little as five years ago, mobile currency trading has come a long way as the need to trade on the go via a secure access point has evolved from a nice-to-have into a necessity.” “Whilst there are other FX trading apps on the market, nobody is currently offering mobile access that has undergone – and passed – security testing and controls of this standard. In an industry undergoing such significant change, trust is fast becoming the currency, and the importance of security cannot be understated,” he added. Stephane Leclerc, COO Monaco and Counterparty Relationship Manager at H2O Asset Management, commented “H2O AM, as a leading boutique asset manager, prides itself on the ability to take decisions quickly and efficiently on behalf of our clients. With the BidFX Mobile App running in conjunction with their Desktop App we can now ensure enhanced coverage across the FX markets which will further enhance our clients’ liquidity in the market.” The BidFX mobile app is available to download now for iPhone, with access for Android to follow later in the year. Older Posts CATEGORIES MEDIA & INDUSTRY NEWS FROM THE MANAGEMENT CAREERS TALK Tags: press release, SGX, liquidity provider, FX algos Americas +1 332 209 3570 | Europe +44 20 8154 0400 | Asia +65 3163 8350 BidFX is a subsidiary of SGX Group © BidFX 2020 | All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. If you click “Accept”, or continue without changing your settings, you consent to their use. To learn more about how we collect and use cookies, see our privacy policy. Accept