We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – we’re good at people moves. So, with two big names like Citi and Citadel in the title, it was going to be hard for this one not to get your attention.

Coming in at number seven in The TRADE’s most read stories for 2024 was news that Vincent Hall had joined Citi as an equity trader following two years at Citadel where he served in the same role.

He returned to Citi after four years in September, having previously worked at the firm as associate vice president in emerging markets equity trading. Elsewhere in his career, Hall has also worked at BlackRock as an associate.

Read more: Fireside Friday with… Citi’s Chris Gooch

Earlier this year, Citi appointed Jamie Miller as new head of electronic equity sales trading for the EMEA region, as revealed by The TRADE. Miller has been with the firm eight and a half years as an employee of the bank, specialising in equity sales trading.

Now you may have noticed that this year is The TRADE’s twentieth birthday – if not then there is a strong chance you have been living under a rock because we’ve made a really big fuss over it.

As part of our year-long celebrations, The TRADE’s editorial team took it upon themselves to deep dive into our beloved industry, producing top 20 lists that explore all corners of the markets.

Among these in depth pieces and coming in at number seven this year in our most read stories is a roundup of the top 20 merger and acquisition stories from across market structure and the trading world. We pride ourselves in being a reference point for our industry with 20 years of content behind us, and these lists summarise everything you need to know in one place.

In this exquisitely detailed piece, TRADE senior reporter Claudia Preece delves into the minutiae of these landmark deals and unpacks their significant and lasting impact on the market.

There are simply too many deals to include in this roundup but if you haven’t read it yet then use the link included above. We’d recommend you make yourself a cup of something first as she’s a biggie.

5. Millennium taps UBS for new senior trader appointment

Coming in at number five and adding to the spattering of people moves included in these most read roundups was news that Millennium had appointed You Khai Tan as senior trader, based in Singapore.

As revealed by The TRADE in March, Tan joined Millennium from UBS, where he had spent the last 13 years, based in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Most recently, Tan held a global portfolio trading position, which included trading global equities with strategy implementation via algorithms, crossing networks and global portfolio trading desks.

Prior to that, Tan held a global markets, APAC cash equities position based in Singapore.

Elsewhere in his career, Tan served at Maybank Investment Banking Group in an equity sales trading role.

He announced his appointment in a social media post, adding: “I’m grateful for this opportunity to broaden my horizons and am thankful to the wonderful individuals and mentors in my professional life.”

While writing up the biggest moves from across the industry brings with it a certain degree of joy, nothing matches recognition received for a longer form piece of work that explores a corner of the markets in more depth.

A great deal of effort goes into The TRADE’s longer form content and coming in at number four in our most read stories this year was a feature exploring the world of open outcry and the potential for a renaissance of it.

Despite the indisputable decline in physical trading practices, it is enduring within an increasingly technological capital markets world which has already put innumerable out-dated practices out of fashion. Market opinion – and moves – suggest that mourning the death of open outcry may be premature.

Like the return of old Nokia’s and ‘dumbphones’ in the era of the smartphone, a hungering for print in the age of digital, and the comeback of the polaroid camera and vinyl, perhaps there’s just reason why these concepts were once deemed great.

Following the announcement from MIAX in October 2023 about plans to launch a new US options electronic exchange and physical trading floor, The TRADE wanted to delve into why open outcry has persisted and the potential for a quiet resurgence of the dying practice. If you haven’t already then absolutely give it a read.

That concludes the second roundup of The TRADE’s most read stories. Tune back in on Friday 27 December to find out what our top three most read pieces of the year have been… exciting! In the meantime, happy holidays.

The post The TRADE’s most read stories of 2024, part two: People moves, TRADE 20 roundups, and open outcry appeared first on The TRADE.

Coming in at number 10 in our 2024 most read countdown was a major merger and acquisition scoop announced at the start of the year. As revealed by The TRADE and sister publication Global Custodian in February, fintech giant acquired SaaS post-trade platform Torstone Technology.

The deal will further bolster FIS’ capital markets technology offering, having acquired SunGard in a major deal back in 2015. The firm has also made waves through a number of other bolt-on acquisitions and landmark mandates.

Torstone is a global SaaS platform for post-trade securities and derivatives processing technology, originally built by and for a global investment bank. 

The fintech was founded in 2011 with originator and CEO Brian Collings still chief executive and chair today. Torstone is headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Toronto, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.  

Speaking at the time of the deal, a spokesperson for Torstone confirmed that the firm was not able to disclose more detail at that stage. A spokesperson for FIS added that the firm as a rule does not comment on market rumour or speculation.

A source speaking to The TRADE, under the condition of anonymity, said: “The acquisition makes perfect sense from the FIS perspective as the vendor can add modern securities processing capabilities to its existing suite of capital markets focused offerings. On the Torstone side, it gives the smaller vendor deeper pockets to build out its capabilities and reach into new geographies.

The TRADE is renowned for its coverage of major people moves from across our industry and so it’s fitting that number nine this year in our most read stories is quant-focused role at Citadel.

As revealed by The TRADE following a post on his social media, Citadel appointed Mukunth Raghavan as head of American Treasury quants, based in New York, in October earlier this year.

As part of the role, Raghavan will serve a broad mandate across both Citadel Asset Management and Citadel Securities. He joins Citadel from Goldman Sachs, where he most recently served as vice president within the bank’s global equities team.

In an earlier stint at Goldman, Raghavan worked as vice president, quantitative strategies within the bank’s equities prime services. In this role he built analytical tools, trading strategies and optimisation models.

Elsewhere in his career, Raghavan spent three years at McKinsey & Company, most recently serving as a management consultant.

8. Goldman Sachs AM set to leverage BNY’s buy-side trading solution

And finally, coming in at number eight and concluding this first roundup of The TRADE’s most read series, is news relating to an outsourced trading deal involving some rather large household names.

News broke in March that BNY was set to begin offering its buy-side trading solution to Goldman Sachs Asset Management as the firm continues to expand the reach of its outsourced trading offering across the market.

The new buy-side trading relationship specifically concerns a division of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s EMEA business, The TRADE understands.

As part of the agreement, BNY is delivering global trade execution services in EMEA, the US and APAC markets across fixed income, FX, derivatives and ETFs. 

BNY’s buy-side trading solutions business was launched in 2023, providing a flexible solution. As the firm explained, “outsourced trading does not have to be a onesize fits all approach, it can be customised to meet your needs”.

Currently, the offering includes a ‘partial outsourcing’ offering wherein a supplemental service is offered, as well as ‘full outsourcing’ where the firm assumes the responsibilities of the trading desk. It supports institutional clients with global multi-asset trade execution services across over 100 countries. 

Read more: The Outsourced Trading Handbook 2023

“BNY is proud to support Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s sophisticated trading needs as they grow their world class investment platform,” said the firm in an official statement.

Outsourced trading is a trend which continues to be on the rise, whether full outsourcing or a supplement to the trading desk, more factors are pushing firms towards the service.

The attention has been increasingly turning to larger managers and while for the C-suite it might be an obvious economic decision, for many on the trading desk the topic continues to be a somewhat contentious one.

That concludes this first roundup of The TRADE’s most read content in 2024. Tune back in tomorrow for stories seven to four.

The post The TRADE’s most read stories of 2024, part one: M&A, quant moves, and outsourced trading remits appeared first on The TRADE.

Stewart Brentnall

The firm is the investment and financial management partner of the New South Wales (NSW) public sector, with $115 billion in assets under management.

The total value of TCorp’s investment in Euroclear is $478 million.

Euroclear offers settlement and custody of domestic and cross-border securities for bonds, equities, derivatives and investment funds, alongside collateral management services.

Euroclear serves roughly 2,400 financial institutions, which use its platform to access 50 different markets and settle transactions in 45 currencies.

The group holds roughly $42 trillion of assets under custody and enabled 299 million netted transactions in 2023, worth an equivalent of $1,126 trillion.

“Euroclear is a foundational component of the world’s financial market infrastructure,” said Stewart Brentnall, chief investment officer at TCorp.

“This is a rare investment opportunity offering resilient returns and growth as well as portfolio diversity to our clients. We look forward to working with the board and management of Euroclear.’’

JP Morgan and BNP Paribas acted as advisors to LSEG on the transaction.

“We are delighted to welcome TCorp as a new shareholder. It is a sophisticated global investor with a long-term investment horizon and anchored in the APAC region,” said Valérie Urbain, chief executive at Euroclear.

“This aligns well to our strategic vision of long-term value creation through providing more liquid and stable markets for Europe and beyond.”

The post LSEG divests 5% interest in Euroclear to TCorp appeared first on The TRADE.

Andrew Ralich

Chief executive and co-founder of oneZero, Andrew Ralich, said: “Golden Gate Capital’s investment is a seamless extension of our beneficial relationship with LMP. This next stage investment, alongside LMP’s continued support, validates the clear opportunity we see to expand our role as a leading technology partner in the global OTC asset trading market. 

“[Golden Gate Capital’s] extensive resources and deep industry expertise will help us accelerate investment in our team and our organic product roadmap, while also expanding opportunities to grow the business through M&A.” 

Golden Gate Capital is a new investor, and will support oneZero alongside the businesses current financial partner, Lovell Minnick Partners with whom it entered a partnership in 2019. 

Read more: Pico secures $200 million investment from Golden Gate Capital

“oneZero’s recent momentum reinforces the strength of its development roadmap and organic growth strategy as it continues to drive differentiated and intelligent performance for its clients,” asserted Dan Haspel, managing director at Golden Gate Capital, speaking about the investment.

“We are confident that oneZero has the right leadership team and strategic plan in place to continue this impressive momentum and are thrilled to support the Company in the next chapter of its growth story.”

The post oneZero receives capital boost from new investor as it seeks to expand its role within the global OTC asset trading market appeared first on The TRADE.

Robin Mess

Commenting on the investment round, Robin Mess, chief executive of big xyt, said: “This investment is testament to big xyt’s strong reputation and commitment to innovation, unrivalled data quality, and exceptional service.   

Finch Capital’s support accelerates our product development and team growth and enables us to take our proven expertise to the next level to meet the rising demand for advanced analytics. These include the need for automation and data-driven decisions to navigate regulatory pressures and stay competitive in increasingly complex financial markets.”

The investment is earmarked to facilitate big xyt’s global expansion across Europe, the US, and APAC, as well as enhancing its product development. 

The firm added that the capital will “strengthen our position as an independent leader in AI-based data analytics for financial markets for some of the world’s leading financial institutions”.
 
Earlier this week, big xyt claimed the award for Outstanding Market Data Services Provider – Equities at The TRADE’s coveted Leaders in Trading awards. 

Aman Ghei, UK partner at Finch Capital said: “big xyt’s expertise in automating capital markets data is crucial as financial institutions face mounting competitive pressures and regulatory demands. 

“[…] big xyt’s team is uniquely positioned to dominate the market with their unmatched expertise in financial data analytics, robust tech innovation, and deep industry insights. Their strategic vision, combined with a proven track record in scaling complex, data-driven solutions, empowers them to stay ahead of evolving market demands.”

The post big xyt secures €10 million capital injection appeared first on The TRADE.

Last week Aquis and Cboe announced that they were teaming up to explore a bid to become the EU’s equity consolidated tape.

Named SimpliCT, the new venture will be based in the Netherlands and co-owned by Cboe and Aquis as equal shareholders.

The endeavour would be competing with the SIX-backed initative, EuroCTP, which was first announced in the third quarter of 2023 and is backed by 14 exchanges as its shareholders.

Subsequently, SIX has said today that following completion of the acquisition, “if Aquis continues to explore or is pursuing a bid to perform the equity consolidated tape provider role, SIX intends to withdraw from EuroCTP, the consortium for the consolidated tape provider role that SIX is participating in”.

Read more: SIX agrees to acquire Aquis Exchange 

Speaking at the time SimpliCT was announced, Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of Aquis, asserted: “This proposed joint venture would not only represent a cost-efficient, robust business model that integrates advanced complementary, proprietary technologies, it would also be designed to deliver fair compensation for data contribution, aligning the interests of contributors and consumers.” 

This news from SIX around its withdrawal may come as a shock to the market as EuroCTP remains the only confirmed bidder for the European Union equities tape thus far, though others have made public their interest and potential to enter the tender process. 

Read more: European exchanges launch JV for CTP tender

Chief executive of EuroCTP Eglantine Desautel previously told The TRADE that EuroCTP is now in the process of firming up its plans to make its official bid in 2025 and has finalised the shortlisting process for its prospective technology partners and is working towards a final selection for August or September. 

The JV is made up of participants across 26 of the EU’s member states and includes: BME, Deutsche Boerse Group, Euronext exchanges (Borsa Italiana, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lison, Paris, Oslo Børs), Luxembourg Stock Exchange, and Nasdaq exchanges (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Iceland, Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius), among others.

The post SIX could withdraw from EuroCTP consortium following Aquis deal appeared first on The TRADE.

David Mercer

Together the firms will offer a broader suite of solutions, including expertise in the FX swaps and forwards market, and spot FX and non-FX asset classes expertise. 

“We believe that with the acquisition of FX HedgePool, our combined client base will benefit from access to a wider suite of products and increased global distribution,” said David Mercer, chief executive, LMAX Group.  

“Following this acquisition and that of Cürex last year, we now have a compelling proposition for asset managers and other buy-side participants in addition to serving our core bank, broker and proprietary trading firm segments.” 

LMAX Group and FX HedgePool are focused on providing greater transparency, efficiency and fairness across the FX ecosystem while providing better accesses to institutional grade liquidity, confirmed the firms. 

Currently, FX swaps account for more than half of total daily FX turnover and are the most traded instrument (in excess of $3.8 trillion per day).

This deal follows LMAX’s acquisition of FX-focused execution services and data analytics provider Cürex last year.

Jay Moore, chief executive and founder of FX HedgePool, asserted that “this significant milestone for FX HedgePool and our community marks the start of a period of considerable innovation. The established yet agile, LMAX Group, complements FX HedgePool’s proven ability to introduce groundbreaking solutions for the modern trading desk. 

“Both firms are aligned in delivering innovative products that set new standards for transparency, fairness and efficiency, and we look forward to an exciting future.”

The post LMAX Group acquires FX HedgePool appeared first on The TRADE.

Federico Alvarez-Demalde

Specifically, the deal value includes £172 million cash to be paid at or before completion of the transaction, comprising an upfront cash consideration of approximately £146 million payable on completion, and a dividend of around £26 million – payable by CBAM to Close Brothers on or before completion. 

In addition, the deal includes £28 million of contingent deferred consideration in the form of preference shares.

“Close Brothers intends to retain the cash received by completion, expected to amount to approximately £172 million, gross of transaction costs,” according to an announcement today. 

Following completion of the transaction – expected in 2025 – CBAM will operate as a standalone and independent business and will move to a new head office as well as taking on a new name.

“Oaktree are backing the existing CBAM management team and together we will deliver our investment and growth plans, to create the best place in the UK for wealth professionals and their clients,” said Eddy Reynolds, chief executive of Close Brothers AM speaking in a social media announcement.

“Oaktree has deep expertise in our business and we are hugely looking forward to working with Fede and the wider Oaktree team in achieving our ambitions […] Independence will bring exciting new opportunities and enable much greater agility. I am, along with my entire team, extremely excited for our future.

Mike Biggs, Close Brothers’ chair, confirmed that the board has unanimously approved the transaction, with the sale set to allow Close Brothers to simplify the group and focus on its core lending business.

This move is set to allow CBAM to accelerate its growth strategy – with the potential to become a leading UK wealth manager under Oaktree ownership. 

Read more: The 20 biggest mergers and acquisitions of the last two decades

Federico Alvarez-Demalde, Oaktree managing director, asserted that the firm had been observing CBAM’s progress for several years, holding the business in high regard.

“The business is well known for its client centric culture which we absolutely intend to preserve and nurture as we invest in its service capabilities and technology to build a vertically integrated UK wealth business of scale. In the coming months we will bring to bear our extensive operational experience in the sector to work closely with Close Brothers and ensure a successful separation and transition of the business.” 

The post Oaktree to pick up Close Brothers Asset Management in £200 million deal appeared first on The TRADE.

Jean-Pierre Ané

Following the completion of the transaction, the Trackinsight brand is set to be maintained and continue to operate independently as well as retaining its in-house teams. 

The move “reaffirms [Kepler’s] commitment to becoming the undisputed leader in the ETF sector”, said the firm.

The deal will provide clients with ETF selection tools for manager and fund selection, as well as innovative portfolio construction tools. 

“Technology and innovation in the service of clients are at the heart of our daily concerns,” asserted Philippe Malaise, chief executive and chair of Trackinsight. 

Over the last two decades the evolution of ETFs have reshaped the asset management sphere irrevocably, with an annual growth rate of 15% since 2010 – around three times the velocity of traditional mutual funds. 

Read more: Innovation in ETFs will lead to increased opportunities

Jean-Pierre Ané, deputy chief executive at Kepler Cheuvreux, said: “We aim to go [even] further by supporting our clients across the entire value chain, from selection to transaction. This acquisition strengthens Kepler Cheuvreux’s position as a key player in financial services.”

The post Kepler Cheuvreux picks up majority stake in ETF platform Trackinsight appeared first on The TRADE.

London-headquartered Substantive Research provides research and market data benchmarking to more than 100 global clients across Europe and North America.

Speaking about the deal, Mike Carrodus, founder and chief executive of Substantive Research, said: “Euronext’s acquisition of Substantive Research underlines our team’s hard work in creating a unique price benchmarking database in investment research and market data.  With the research market poised for yet more regulatory-driven changes, plus market data consumers grappling with increasing costs and pricing opacity, we are so excited to be able to accelerate our coverage and data depth with Commcise and Euronext’s insight and resources. 

“It feels great that we can now accelerate development into areas we know our clients need greater market transparency.”

Read more: In conversation with… Substantive Research’s Mike Carrodus

Substantive Research will be particularly beneficial for clients of Euronext’s subsidiary Commcise, which offers cloud-based, fully integrated commission management, research valuation, consumption tracking and payment solutions. 

With the integration of Substantive Research, these clients will be able to gain access to unique market benchmarks, enabling asset managers to demonstrate compliance with evolving regulation in a single, integrated technology solution.

Camille Beudin, head of diversified services, Euronext, said: “The acquisition of Substantive Research will accelerate the growth of our investor services business with leading research and market data benchmarking capabilities and cross-selling potential with Commcise, our commission management and research valuation solutions.” 

The post Euronext acquires Substantive Research appeared first on The TRADE.