Bulge-bracket broker Goldman Sachs is planning to launch a non-displayed alternative trading system (ATS) in Canada, SIGMA X Canada, designed to reduce market impact for users.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment on when the new platform will be launched, but several of its features are currently known. Flow directed to SIGMA X Canada will interact with orders resting in the book as well as those passing through the ATS on the way out to the public markets, via the Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing (GSEC) smart order router for Canadian markets.
Orders will be accepted from 07.00 to 16.00 EST directly via FIX, or by routing orders through GSEC's direct market access platform REDIPlus and matched from 09.30 to 16.00 EST. In addition, the SIGMA X Canada order management infrastructure will enforce maximum size restrictions on a per-order basis to help prevent erroneous trades. Orders that exceed the maximum size will be rejected.
On 9 March 2011 Goldman Sachs received regulatory approval from UK regulator the Financial Services Authority to launch its equivalent dark multilateral trading facility (MTF) in Europe, SIGMA X MTF. That platform uses technology provided by NYSE Technologies, the commercial technology division of exchange group NYSE Euronext, and is scheduled to launch during Q2 this year.