FlexTrade Dives into Fixed Income Trading, Connecting with eSpeed

Making the move into electronic fixed income trading, FlexTrade Systems, a major provider of order management systems, said it will provide a direct connection into BGC Partners' proprietary eSpeed trading platform.

Today, FlexTrade said the technology firm is certified to trade US Treasuries as a member of the BGC Partners Preferred Vendor Program.

"We're very excited about this certification, which facilitates fixed income trading via FlexTRADER and further deepens our multi-asset trading functionality," commented Vijay Kedia, president and CEO of FlexTrade, in today's release. "Our clients can gain quick and easy access to the liquidity of the US Treasury market through a direct connection to BGC's proprietary trading platform, eSpeed."

According to Philip Norton, executive Managing Director & Global Head of eCommerce for BGC Partners, the firm's proprietary electronic trading platform is designed to offer quick and efficient access to the US Treasuries market. "By using our system, FlexTrade clients will have seamless access to one of the biggest liquidity pools for fixed income," said Norton.

Founded in 1996, FlexTrade Systems is an industry pioneer in broker-neutral algorithmic trading platforms for equities, foreign exchange and listed derivatives. But this is the OMS provider's first foray into fixed income trading, confirms a spokesman.

The timing of the deal underscores the trend toward computerized fixed income trading, which has become a hot topic on Wall Street due to cost pressures and efficiencies to be gained through technology. Financial regulatory reforms such as Dodd-Frank are shining the light on the need for more transparency into opaque over-the-counter instruments such as derivatives and fixed income. In addition, the Volcker Rule bans banks from conducting proprietary trading and has sent buy-side firms scurrying for other sources of liquidity.

BGC's technology helps customers determine the value of a transaction and execute at the best possible price. BGC's customers include many of the world's largest banks, hedge funds, governments and investment firms. Trades are executed through BGC's brokers, or through its hybrid and fully electronic brokerage services.

In partnering with BGC, FlexTrade also has the opportunity to expand into multiple asset classes. BGC offers customers over 220 products, including commercial real estate, fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities, futures, and structured products.

With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, FlexTrade has a worldwide client base spanning more than 175 buy- and sell-side firms, including many of the largest investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, commodity trading advisors and institutional brokers. These firms will have the option of connecting with eSpeed directly through the FlexTRADER platform. 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