Thomson Integrates OMS, TradeWeb

To enhance the workflow of asset managers and buy-side traders active in fixed-income markets, Thomson Financial launched TradeCentral, an order management system (OMS) that comes pre-integrated with Thomson TradeWeb, the electronic fixed-income and derivatives marketplace. While the OMS covers multiple asset classes, its main goal is to simplify workflows and reduce the number of steps in fixed-income trading, according to Brent Rossum, VP, product manager, for Boston-based Thomson TradeWeb.

Rather than deal with two separate applications, the TradeWeb multidealer-to-client system is embedded in the TradeCentral OMS, which is based on Linedata's LongView Trading System, explains Rossum. "We've taken the trade order management system and embedded it into the trade execution system so it automatically follows the workflows," he says.

While several leading OMSs - including Charles River, Bloomberg and Longview Trading - integrate with TradeWeb, they do not provide the same efficient workflow, according to Rossum. The OMSs send orders via the FIX protocol to TradeWeb's so-called Alert Book, where traders locate the orders for execution. Post-execution, TradeWeb sends order confirmations back to the buy-side firms' OMSs. But, Rossum points out, the workflow is interrupted, as portfolio managers and traders have to access another system. TradeCentral eliminates this extra step, he says.

On the execution side, Rossum continues, "We've simply decreased the amount of steps they need to take and also wrapped all of that into a single application, rather than two disparate applications." For example, if a portfolio manager is overweight in a particular sector, he or she can immediately create an order, populate a ticket and choose its brokers, get the execution amount, accept it, and get all the data flowing back through TradeWeb into TradeCentral, he describes.

In addition, the system supports sending multiple securities to a TradeWeb screen, Rossum adds, enabling buy-side traders to check inventory in TradeWeb without leaving the OMS. For example, a trader could send an order for 10 corporate bonds but also ask for the inventory in commercial paper or off-the-run agency benchmarks, he says.

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

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