Middle Eastern investment bank EFG-Hermes has said joining global FIX-based connectivity networks will allow it to improve handling of high-touch client orders by reducing the inefficiencies of manual trading methods.
Currently, buy-side firms who want to trade certain Middle Eastern and North African markets, such as Egypt, Dubai and Bahrain, are required to register each of their funds. This can complicate the job of sales traders, who may have to manage multiple accounts on behalf of a single buy-side client.
Furthermore, according to Seif Fikry, head of brokerage for the United Arab Emirates and Oman at EFG-Hermes, the move towards automation will also prime the firm to handle DMA and algorithmic trading when markets in the Middle East mature.
“We have recently joined Fidessa, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg networks to help us reduce human error and decrease the processing time when handling care orders,” Fikry told theTRADEnews.com. “In this instance, we haven’t implemented a FIX-based network with the facilitation of DMA and algo trading in mind, but it is now a capability we are willing to offer.”
Algorithmic trading and similar electronic trading functionality is currently not suited to the Middle Eastern markets because of shallow liquidity in the region, according to Fikry.
“As EFG-Hermes is a one-stop shop for trading in North Africa and the Middle East we are planning to be the first to offer algorithmic trading capabilities when the markets have evolved and are ready to accept it,” he added.
EFG-Hermes announced last week that it had joined Fidessa global connectivity network, allowing the network’s 2,300 buy-side 400 broker members to use the full range of the bank’s brokerage services, including access to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Dubai Financial Market, Dubai International Financial Exchange, Nasdaq Dubai, Tadawul, Egyptian Exchange, and Karachi Stock Exchange.