Bear to add buy-side understanding to Olivetree

 

Equity brokerage Olivetree Financial Group have hired Daemon Bear, former head of ICAP’s BlockCross dark pool, to bolster the company’s transition from execution advisory services to technology solutions.

 

Equity brokerage Olivetree Financial Group have hired Daemon Bear, former head of ICAP’s BlockCross dark pool, to bolster the company’s transition from execution advisory services to technology solutions.

Bear was appointed head of execution services at Olivetree after the ICAP dark pool he ran closed due to an increasingly competitive environment for non-displayed European multilateral trading facilities.

The appointment will bring experienced understanding of buy-side trading to Olivetree, and in particular Bear’s knowledge of European regulation to the firm, according to CEO and founder Daryn Kutner. 

Speaking directly to theTRADEnews.com he said: “The main part of Daemon’s career has been spent running an institutional dealing desk for J.P. Morgan, and it’s that aspect which will be most relevant in the business we’re trying to pursue.

“With the tools developed in Olivetree Solutions, we’re trying to support the transfer of decision making to the buy-side so Daemon has come in to support this structural shift,” Kutner said.

The move will add pointed knowledge of buy-side trading to Olivetree as it grows its trading technology business after announcing a suite of new tools designed specifically for the buy-side traders.

“We’re delighted he’s here and he has a unique understanding of the pressure the buy side dealing desks are under and we want to lean heavily on that experience in the coming years.

Bear will support efforts to expand buy-side take up of Olivetree's OTAS platform, which aims to facilitate a more meaningful dialogue between buy-side trading desks and their portfolio managers. It includes tools such as Trade Scheduler, that helps traders organise trades and manage portfolios based on systematic and quantitative signals signals. The OTAS platform also incorporates tools to optimise execution and reduce trading costs and exit positions.

“We’ve really refined our strategy instead of widening it, and we’ve spent three years developing benchmark tools OTAS and Trade Scheduler,” Kutner said, adding that a core focus of the business would be to help clients deal with increased regulatory pressures within the industry.

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