Agency broker Instinet has acquired the business and assets of TORC Financial, a derivatives trading technology provider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase gives Instinet’s clients immediate access to TORC’s suite of options trading solutions for institutional derivatives trading, including execution, analytics and risk management tools.
“We see options as one of the fastest growing asset classes in the US. The TORC acquisition is a strategically integral move for Instinet and greatly enhances our ability to serve our customers,” said Anthony Abenante and Fumiki Kondo, co-chief executive officers of Instinet, in a joint statement.
According to the Options Clearing Corporation, US options volumes have seen a compound annual growth rate of 20% since 1995, while a survey from consultancy firm TABB Group published in February estimated that 63% of options traders expected to increase their options trading volume in 2009.
TORC product suite includes TradeSpeed Options Professional, a multi-asset class analytics and execution solution that is integrated with most major US-based prime brokers, and RiskPro, a real-time risk monitoring tool.
“The combination of our extensive options industry experience with Instinet’s global distribution footprint and superior technology infrastructure bode well for a successful integration and a rich cross-asset offering for our combined client base,” commented TORC CEO John Duffell.