Deutsche Börse offers algo news feed in CME facility
Deutsche Börse has made available its algorithmic news feed AlphaFlash in the CME co-location facility located in Chicago’s suburbs via its subsidiary, Need to Know News. This is the second data centre in the Chicago area offering clients direct access to AlphaFlash. Two more access points in the US are located in New Jersey and Washington D.C.
AlphaFlash is designed to provide automated traders with machine-readable trading signals that can be used by trading algorithms. The service focuses on delivering key macroeconomic indicators, global treasury auctions results and corporate news. AlphaFlash subscribers can choose among several data packages such as US, Canadian, European or Asian economic indicators, US and global treasury auctions.
“Chicago is one of the most important algo trading communities in the world,” said Georg Gross, head of front office data and analytics, Deutsche Börse. “By adding this new connectivity option, we are enabling our clients to trade even more efficiently on the local derivatives market using AlphaFlash messages.”
4sight offers collateral optimisation tool
Financial technology provider 4sight Financial Software has launched a collateral optimisation module for its Xpose Collateral Management System.
The solution lets financial firms run automated availability checks based on a counterparty’s acceptability and concentration schedules. The system then proposes the cheapest way to deliver collateral within schedule.
The collateral optimisation system can also run collateral allocations across all of a firm’s counterparts and across business lines, including securities lending, repo and OTC/listed derivatives. This lets the system show the discrepancy between the firm’s actual collateral cost on current allocations and optimum collateral cost on the best possible allocations.
The module also lets users run what if scenarios to allocate collateral against underlying clients in the collateral pool without booking any collateral movements. Users can then collateralise their underlying clients in the most efficient manner.
“Collateral optimisation is becoming of crucial importance in making effective use of balance sheet due to forthcoming regulators such as Basel III and Dodd Frank, and the new module helps users to manage collateral supply and demand in a much more efficient manner,” said Judith McKelvey, 4sight sales director.
FTEN sets out risk analytics offerings
FTEN, the risk management solutions arm of exchange group Nasdaq OMX, has set out a series of real-time risk analytics for options trading, intended to boost its cross-asset, cross-market and cross-system risk management abilities.
RiskXposure (RX) FTEN’s enterprise risk platform, now provides brokers with standardised, real-time options volatilities data to apply to individual option positions and portfolios with combined equity and option positions. The additional ability is intended to help brokers quickly identify and address intraday portfolio exposure across equities and options on a pre- and post-trade basis.
The ability to draw on volatilities data such as delta, gamma and vega Greek values directly through RX should help firms respond to intraday market exposure before it becomes disruptive. RX gives users the ability to set risk exposure limits on individual positions and entire portfolios. When a limit is breached, RX will only permit trades that reduce market exposure.
“By aggregating transaction data from multiple trading systems, high-frequency trading gateways and exchanges to a central point, customers are able to proactively address their global trading risk in rapidly changing market conditions,” said Ted Myerson, CEO, FTEN.
Numerix CrossAsset supports VIX futures
Cross-asset analytics provider Numerix has released its latest version of Numerix CrossAsset model coverage for VIX futures instruments to more accurately price volatility linked derivatives.
The VIX was first introduced in 1993 to track the implied volatility of certain stock market indices. Today, there are VIX-like indices measuring the implied volatility of various equity and commodity indices and many exchange-traded instruments written on the VIX.
With CrossAsset 10.0, Numerix has developed its VIX coverage to better model equity indices and their volatility dynamics. The well-known Heston and Bates equity and commodity models can now be calibrated to VIX futures and options, taking into account the volatility of volatility term structure for pricing and risk. The aim is to provide more accurate prices, resulting in better hedges.
“Volatility has become a full-blown asset class and managing its complexities has remained a challenge for customers over the past several years, not only from a hedging perspective but also from a modelling point of view,” said Steve O’ Hanlon, president and COO of Numerix. “By incorporating further VIX coverage into our hybrid model and structuring framework, clients now have a broader range of capabilities for pricing and valuation services.”
Greenline automates testing for Bursa Malaysia and Mexico's Finamex
Greenline Financial Technology has partnered with Bursa Malaysia to deliver automated FIX protocol testing. Malaysia's national exchange chose Greenline’s VeriFIX automated testing tool and testing advisory services.
Bursa Malaysia is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trading initiative, which has selected VeriFIX to automate connectivity testing across its regionally-connected exchanges. ASEAN's electronic trading link is an intra-Asian cross-border order routing and trading platform intended to let investor and broker members access multiple markets through a single connection. In June the link will initially be between Bursa Malaysia and the Singapore Exchange, then by August the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The region’s other stock markets – the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Philippine Stock Exchange and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi exchanges – are involved in discussions to join the network, but their participation is not confirmed.
“Our practices provide full-service testing solutions for exchanges in both traditional and regional routing arrangements,” said Josh Nardo, head of professional services at Greenline. “Greenline continues to be a key partner in helping to grow the ASEAN trading initiative.”
Meanwhile, Mexican broker Casa de Bolsa Finamex has selected Greenline’s VeriFIX for automated and business-wide system testing. Finamex uses VerFIX to test connectivity and functions between its own applications and vendor networks, client order management systems as well as equities and derivatives exchanges in Mexico.
“Greenline’s VeriFIX is a powerful tool that has allowed Finamex to save time and resources when doing application testing at many different levels,” said Hector Casavantes, director of electronic trading at Finamex. “Tests can be automatically conducted at any time, helping our technologists to do complete quality assurance more efficiently and at an earlier stage in the development process.”