Fireside Friday with… TP ICAP’s Max Spoto

The TRADE sits down with Max Spoto, group chief operating officer at TP ICAP, to discuss how technology is allowing for an evolution among brokers, the way in which the role of individual over-the-counter (OTC) brokers is changing, and the impacts of cloud adoption in this realm.  

How likely are interdealer brokers and OTC markets likely to follow in exchanges’ footsteps? 

If you step onto a broking floor today, you’ll hear the familiar buzz of brokers advising clients and executing trades. However, behind their screens, the technology at brokers’ disposal is undergoing a quiet revolution.  

Communication, connectivity, and clients’ trust are the backbone of our business. We need to be agile enough to meet changing client demands for new products, tools, and services, and to adapt to regulatory changes. Our technology must empower us to meet these needs effectively and efficiently. 

Migrating to the cloud is a game-changer for interdealer brokers (IDBs) and OTC markets. It allows us to leverage the latest technological advancements, like AI and machine learning, to enhance trading efficiency and market insights. The cloud also offers scalable resources that can be adjusted based on demand, and better data storage, management, and analytics. 

Given these benefits, it’s almost a given that any interdealer broker with scale and ambition will migrate to the cloud. That’s why, last December, we accelerated our ‘all in on cloud’ strategy by signing a major collaboration with Amazon Web Services. By the end of 2026, TP ICAP’s IT workload on AWS Cloud will nearly double to more than 80%. 

How is technology changing the role of individual OTC brokers? 

The role of the modern-day broker is multi-faceted. From processing information feeds from multiple sources, to providing market colour, and executing complex orders, brokers must add value at every stage of the transaction life cycle to earn clients’ trust. Technology is a key enabler in this process. 

Platforms built on cloud technology allow us to automate various tasks and workflows. For instance, using AI to derive actionable insights from multiple data sources or automating the trade confirmation process. Essentially, technology provides brokers with the tools and time to better understand their clients’ needs and offer value-adding advisory. This ultimately helps deliver superior liquidity solutions.  

What are the strategic implications of cloud adoption for OTC brokers overall and their clients? 

Fundamentally, cloud adoption can transform the operational landscape for OTC brokers, enabling us to serve clients more effectively and efficiently. For example, our flagship digital platform, Fusion, is fully-cloud enabled, and our collaboration with AWS involves 45 highly skilled AWS engineers working alongside our technology teams to co-develop Fusion. 

By utilising data analytics and generative AI, we aim to enhance developers’ productivity, more than halve new product development times, and improve scalability. This means we can respond to brokers’ and clients’ needs more swiftly by rolling out new functionality onto Fusion faster. Strategically, this enhances seat value for brokers – they want to work with the best tech as it helps them to do more business – and it helps institutionalise client relationships, enhancing sustainable revenue growth. 

As markets and clients evolve, so do we. The cloud provides the technology infrastructure necessary to stay ahead, ensuring we continue to deliver superior liquidity solutions and brilliant client service. 

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