NeoNet Eyes Asian Expansion and New Hires

Ivy Schmerken, Wall Street & Technology

Direct market access broker NeoNet Securities plans to offer connectivity to Asian markets next year and will expand its staff at its Jersey City, New Jersey headquarters.

The expansion of its exchange connectivity will start during the first half of next year, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan, according to Greg Treacy, director of sales at the firm. NeoNet expects to add four to five new positions at the Jersey City office, including technologists, traders and sales people to support the firm's growth, says Treacy.NeoNet will hire one additional junior trader to assist the senior team on the U.S. equity desk. "This person will have very high technical skills and excellent verbal and written skills with clients," says Treacy. "Making smart decisions quickly will be this person's strength," he adds. The tech hire will expand the firm's network and software support team and needs to be a quick thinker who deals well with clients, Treacy adds. In addition, NeoNet will be hiring a junior sales assistant to expand the sales team as it continues to grow its U.S. client base.

The Stockholm-based institutional agency broker reported record earnings in 2006 as a result of increased demand for its low-touch trading platform from U.S. hedge funds, traditional asset managers and broker dealers.

Operating revenues for the third quarter ending September 30, 2006, was $12.7 million, up from $8.7 million in the Q3 of 2005. Over the fist nine-months of this year, from January through September, it had $39.3 million in operating revenues as compared with $24.9 million in the first nine-month period. Operating earnings before depreciation (EBITDA) for the third quarter from July through September were $2.7 million, up from $1.5 million in the comparable quarter in 2005 while for the nine-months through September 2006, they were $8.5 million, versus $4.35 million for the same period in 2005.

Looking at the bigger picture behind its growth, Neonet contends that more institutional investors want to access international markets that meet their demands of speed, stability and functionality on a trading system that does not engage in proprietary trading, thereby eliminating the risk of conflict of interest. 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