UBS Investment Bank has chosen UL REACH, a product from trading solutions provider ULLINK, to publish algorithms to buy-side clients. UBS’s decision closely follows those of fellow investment banks Morgan Stanley and Citi. ULLINK announced earlier this week that both these firms were using UL REACH.
UL REACH allows brokers to automatically certify and publish their algorithms to make them instantly available to buy-side clients on the platform. UL REACH integrates with any order or execution management system via FIX. ULLINK says this means brokers no longer need to adapt to multiple buy-side systems. The firm adds that buy-side clients also benefit from the system thanks to the rapid availability of new trading strategies, without having to wait for a new software release.
On the buy-side, UL REACH users browse through their broker’s library to enrich their orders with algorithmic parameters. Operations on both the broker and client sides are performed in a graphical environment.
“With buy-side interest in algorithmic and direct execution constantly growing we were looking for an innovative solution to empower our clients with our advanced algorithmic products in an almost real time fashion,” says Tim Wildenberg, head of direct execution services for Europe at UBS Investment Bank. “The UL REACH solution enables us to do this while bypassing the need to adapt every client system for every custom modification, enhancement or new algorithm. It gives both us and our clients far more flexibility and most importantly will allow our clients to get trading with our new tools and services quicker.”
UL REACH allows brokers to add, update or delete algorithms and parameters dynamically. ULLINK says the solution also adapts to existing trading environments. Buy-side users connect to the service through their existing connection to the broker, whether it be point to point or through a third-party network.