First Derivatives Partners with Trading Cross Connects on HFT Solutions

First Derivatives plc and Trading Cross Connects (TXC) have formed a joint venture to offer a best-of-breed all-in software and infrastructure solution for the high frequency trading community.

The partnership will enable TXC to expand its technology and infrastructure offering to the HFT community. TXC said it’s been serving HFT firms since the firm’s launch in 2009.

The partnership satisfies the growing need for software, infrastructure and consulting services to high frequency firms trading in FX, fixed income and futures marketplaces, according to the joint press statement.

Key components of the offering include: — FD’s suite of products and services including the Delta suite of applications powered by kdb+ (Delta Alog and Delta Monitoring) and FD consulting services.

— TXC’s products and services, including software, hosting locatiosn in Secaucus (New Jersey), Chicago, Slough (London) and Tokyo, and native connectivity to FX, fixed income and futures ECNs and exchanges.

Both companies said they have proven the offering and have already taken one customer live using the integrated Delta Alog software solution and TXC’s technology and infrastructure.

According to the press statement, the HFT community is looking to purchase solutions that are “battle tested” and quick to implement.

In a statement, Alan Schwarz, President and COO of TXC, said: “We are committed to being a leader in the high frequency space and offer solutions that are state-of-the-art, cost effective and easy to implement. We are extremely excited about our partnership with First Derivatives. First Derivatives have a longstanding reputation in the market for offering trading and data solutions to large banks and financial institutions. The First Derivatives product set complements our existing offering and will provide powerful tools to our customers. We have already taken one customer live using the joint TXC and FD offering and are very pleased with the deployment and benefits we are able to extend to our high frequency trading team.”

According to Brian Conlon, CEO of First Derivatives, who is quoted in the same release, the company has implemented kdb+ technology for many years in partnership with many of the world’s largest financial institutions “to provide innovative solutions in response to the rapid growth in market data volumes and the drive to reduce latency. The expertise we have gained on these assignments forms the core of our Delta Algo offering which will enable rapid development, backtesting and deployment of trading strategies for high frequency trading operations. We have found TXC to be extremely knowledgeable about high frequency trading and their hosting infrastructure is comprehensive and robust.”

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio