ELECTRONIC TRADING

An analysis of market-center data finds that for S&P 500 stocks, Nasdaq offers investors faster execution speeds, tighter spreads and lower execution costs; Fxall deploys a new Web-based user interface; Opex hires India's Elind Computers.

An independent analysis of market-center data by Chicago-based Market Systems finds that for S&P 500 stocks, Nasdaq offers investors faster execution speeds, tighter spreads and lower execution costs. Specifically, it found that Nasdaq executions in S&P 500 stocks occur in an average of 2.5 seconds and are 9.7 times faster than the NYSE. Spreads are 62 percent faster and costs are 56 percent better than the NYSE. The data is publicly released every month by market centers and broker/dealers in response to an SEC-mandate for uniform statistical measures of execution quality and order routing on a security-by-security basis.

Fxall -- an electronic-trading platform for foreign-currency execution -- deployed a new Web-based user interface delivered by Random Walk Computing, Inc., that allows clients to seamlessly process trades through FXall Settlement Center. Random Walk and FXall use Enterprise Java technology, including Servlet and JavaServer Pages to provide a user interface to the trade-matching engine. Without any additional software installation, the new interface allows all trades to be processed by Settlement Center, whether executed by the matching engine or by phone, providing a single view of all trades executed by the client. More than 400 clients are signed up for trading at FXall.

Portugal-based Opex, a new electronic-communications network in Europe, has hired India's Elind Computers to supply and implement an online-trading platform and Web-based IPO allocation system. The exchange expects to go live with the automated-trading marketplace during the first half of 2003, and will offer trading in equities, bonds, warrants, derivatives, forex contracts and funds.

Advent Software is introducing a software and services solution for the independent broker/dealer market, which will help firms attract and retain independent adviser representatives and provide those representative with a choice of technology tools. Advent/Techfi for Broker Dealers, developed from the combined resources of Advent and Techfi Corporation, offers consolidated reporting, performance reporting, portfolio management, compliance, integration with third-party applications, and a sales and marketing program to assist independent broker/dealers in rolling the solution out to their representatives.