Fixed income broker-dealer Millennium Advisors has moved to adopt a self-clearing model, as part of an effort to reduce trading costs.
Laurent Paulhac
The transition is expected to provide a more efficient settlement model as markets become increasingly competitive and automation gains traction across the bond industry.
“Self-clearing provides us with the ability to scale our operations even more,” said Laurent Paulhac, group chief executive of Millennium Advisors.
“Owning the clearing and funding workflow – combined with a unique blend of human and machine-powered trading – places us in an elite category among liquidity providers. It’s truly a game-changer, and we’re already eyeing up the opportunities in other business lines such as repo and securities lending.”
Specifically, the decision aligns with an uptick in non-traditional liquidity providers, like Millennium Advisors, turning to technology to drive growth in the fixed income market, with a focus on increasing trading desk efficiency and sharpening pricing.
Joe DeModna, head of global operations at Millennium Advisors, said: “While self-clearing is not a novel concept, Millennium Advisors stands alone in its approach to operational efficiency. This focus dates back to the roots of the firm, which – long before it became fashionable – has always realised that technology, analytical and operational superiority can drive significant pricing leverage. That’s good for us, and more importantly, great for our trading counterparties.”
The move follows the launch of Millennium Advisors’ new office in Singapore in August last year, as the firm looked to drive out its presence across the APAC region.
Similarly, in May 2024, the firm partnered with fixed income software solutions provider Investortools, in a move which allowed Millennium Advisors to be fully featured as an electronic trading package for straight-through-processing, enabling users to lift, bid, counter and receive allocation details electronically directly within Investortools’ software.