CastleOak Securities Flips Switch on Fidessa Trading Platform

CastleOak Securities, the New York-based boutique investment bank, has gone live with Fidessa' group plc's hosted trading platform in the U.S. The minority owned agency broker is also using Fidessa's advanced trading tools for basket trading and BlueBox for algorithmic trading.

"Implementing the Fidessa system marks a significant step forward for CastleOak Securities. Fidessa's reputation for rich functionality and a vast buy-side network is well known, and its trading platform allows us to bring that level of technology and technical support into CastleOak at a competitive price," stated Marlon Weems, managing director of equity sales and trading at CastleOak Securities, in the release. "WE were particularly impressed by Fidessa's algorithms, which have proven to be on a par with those from brokers. This mean that we can use our trading expertise to interact with the Fidessa technology to enrich the algorithms ourselves, which constitutes a real advantage," further stated Weems. BlueBox contains both industry standard models and a comprehensive framework to design and deploy proprietary algorithms.

"Fidessa's streamlined systems cuts down the manual processes involved with the execution, allocation and clearing of trades, as well as providing rigorous compliance and risk management capabilities, " added Weems, in the release.

According to David Polen, SVP hosted product marketing at Fidessa, The company "is focused on providing a comprehensive multi-asset and global trading platform that allows brokers to grow their business horizontally and vertically at a reasonable price." At the back end, the company provides compliance and seamless clearing and settlement, stated Polen.

Fidessa's hosted solution comprises specialist trading platforms developed for the US, Canadian, European, Japanese and Asian markets, including electronic order management, smart order routing, real-time market data, middle office capabilities, position keeping, risk management and compliance in a single system. The OMS integrates advanced trading tools including: Pairs and program trading and Fidessa BlueBox for algorithmic trading.

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