US-based trading technology provider UNX has upgraded its Catalyst execution management system (EMS), previously available in Canada, Brazil and Mexico, to support trading in European markets, as well as enhanced real-time benchmarking capabilities, enhanced trade management and order management system functionality.
The firm has also released Version 4.0 of its Software Development Kit (SDK), used by broker-dealers, exchanges and third-party application vendors to develop applications or add-ins for use in Catalyst, which now includes interfaces to support multi-currency, global market data and order handling.
UNX SDK is designed to allow users to add functionality, update their offerings and integrate applications themselves without having to involve the UNX development staff. Recent additions to the suite of available applications include pre-trade analytics from Goldman Sachs and investment research firm Quantitative Services Group's transaction cost analysis product.
“Extending Catalyst to support international markets represents an important milestone as we rapidly grow the core EMS capabilities to across regions and asset classes in response to client demand,” said Ruth Colagiuri, head of global product management for UNX. “The SDK empowers market participants to deliver proprietary content and value-added products directly to their clients, leveraging the broker-neutral Catalyst Portal as a distribution channel. The result is a new paradigm that extends beyond just an EMS to create a community of participants who can access and contribute solutions according to their business models and trading needs.”
Both Catalyst and the UNX SDK were built on open, modular architecture using Microsoft .NET technology, enabling clients to customise based on their individual requirements.
“We're seeing an increased demand for pre-trade analytics, and UNX's SDK allowed us to develop and deploy our analytics to select Goldman Sachs clients using Catalyst in record time,” commented Rishi Nangalia, managing director and head of business development, Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading. “We plan to use the SDK to build and integrate future value-added products and services into Catalyst.”