A Technology Roundup
NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) – MetaECN and FLEXStream are the latest upgraded trading systems from UNX, which offers trading technology predominantly used by hedge funds.
Designed to combine the best trading features of numerous trading platforms, MetaECN is the engine for intelligent order routing. It offers advanced trading functionality across all electronic communications networks. The FLEXStream component is a proprietary market data system that offers institutional investors access to news and depth-of-book quote feeds for U.S. equities.
Other enhancements to the universal brokerage platform include: support for extended house and preferred stock trading, the addition of new destinations for listed stock trading, more customized order entry fields, a new discretion options and a messaging system to alert traders to real-time market structure updates.
Hedge fund managers, such as Alpha Equity Management and Hanseatic Group, already have voiced approval. Kevin Means, managing partner at Alpha Equity Management, Simsbury, Conn., said in a statement that he was pleased by the latest release and the upgrades will help them find best execution.
“We have been very successful at applying the UNX routing algorithms and order types,” Brian Stangel, head trader at Hanseatic in Albuquerque, N.M, said in a statement. “In using the UNX Platform, we have become more proficient in working larger positions – especially in thinly traded names – and have successfully managed fragmentation to get efficient pricing and execution in the market.”
Earlier this year, William Karsh was appointed president and senior managing director of UNX to help the company move through its growth in trading volumes and gross revenues. Mr. Karsh was the chief operating officer of Embarcadero Securities, the company UNX merged with in June 2002.
SunGard Updates Synapse Software
SALT LAKE CITY (HedgeWorld.com) – Synapse 5.0 has been released and is the latest offering for SunGard Online Investments Systems, which is the integrated wealth management and front-office technology arm of SunGard.
The new version of Synapse 5.0 includes new data, reporting, processing and monitoring services that support the front-end software. The new system also has enhanced data connection functions that allow Synapse to map directly to specifically structured databases.
Synapse Suitability is a part of the system that allows clients to monitor brokerage transactions and applications and is used for regulatory compliance, according to SunGard. Synapse 5.0 also includes automated transaction review, product selection, cross- selling and other trade order-editing solutions.
CTC Chooses Electronic Market Making Technology
CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com) – Chicago Trading Co., which is the a proprietary trading firm active on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and OneChicago platform, is now using Capital Markets Consulting LLC’s technology for electronic market making on those exchanges.
CMC’s technological gateway between CBOE and OneChicago supports order routing, quoting, mass quoting, requests for quotes and their respective responses from the exchange. Market data comes directly from the exchange and offers latest market prices and depth of the market, according to CMC.
CTC integrated the software into its existing applications and is able to generate its own theoretical values for market making in using CMC’s CMi interface, according to a statement from CMC.
The creators of the first options handheld device to be used by options traders founded CMC in 1996. In 2001, the firm launched 1Stock Futures, a trade routing system that handles single-stock futures trading in the United States.
Deutsche Signs Up for Crucible Platform
LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) – Deutsche Bank Global Markets’ product innovation group recently implemented Prediction Dynamics’ Crucible as a platform for researching and deploying its quantitative trading strategies.
Crucible is now being used in the bank’s foreign exchange division, where a group develops new financial offerings and trading strategies. The software, which is a time-series modeling platform, will be used to develop models for trading hedging and risk management applications at the trading desk. Prediction Dynamics sells the software to high-end users, such as hedge funds, as a model engine. Last fall, the firm was granted a patent for the Crucible system.
Bullrun Financial Launches Investment Adviser
PRINCETON, N.J. (HedgeWorld.com) – Bullrun Edge is the newest software focused on the investment adviser industry serving individual investors. The web-based software is a tool for advisers to monitor portfolios and to provide detailed analysis and performance attribution. Bullrun Edge also integrates stock analytics and real-time portfolio vs. benchmark monitoring in a single platform.
Kelmoore Using CheckFree for Reporting
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (HedgeWorld.com) – Kelmoore Investment Co., which manages a large-cap equity hedging strategy, selected CheckFree APL as its performance-reporting tool.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Kelmoore currently offers its hedging strategy in domestic and offshore mutual funds and separate accounts but has considered launching a hedge fund, according to Tammy Heiman, senior executive vice president at Kelmoore. The Kelmoore strategy uses covered calls in its large-cap equity funds to enhance returns.
The CheckFree APL is primarily a separately managed account platform that provides remote processing services to money managers and financial advisers for investment management, trading, portfolio performance and investor reporting.
“With automated performance reporting, we hope to save time, costs and resources,” Ms. Heiman said in a statement. “We have a quality performance monitor for sponsor program due diligence that also meets AIMR compliance.”
