Merrill Lynch Japan Launches Low-Latency DMA Platform

Merrill Lynch Japan Securities has introduced a third-party hosted service for ultra-low latency electronic trading.

The platform allows clients to trade from third-party data center and users can access multiple exchanges from a single location by selecting brokers that hold required memberships.

In a statement, Carrie Cheung, director of Asia Pacific Electronic Trading at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said, “In the past, clients looking for exceptionally low latency were limited to co-locating at specific exchange data centers in Japan. Hosting there means access is limited to just one market and one broker, cost performance is not very efficient as well.”

She added, “Third-party hosting places the power in our clients’ hands, allowing them to freely choose the most efficient markets and the best performing brokers from one location for a competitive price. Latency sensitive strategies will benefit from our state-of-the-art direct access platform and allow trading at speeds very similar to those of exchange co-location.”

MLJS worked with KVH Co, a provider of network and managed IT services, and Activ Financial Systems, a low-latency market data provider, to develop the new platform.