Software AG and Fluent Trade Technologies Combine to Launch FX Trading Surveillance Platform

Software AG and Fluent Trade Technologies have announced the development and launch of an ultra-low latency FX trading surveillance platform. The new platform uses technology from each of the two firms, combining Software AG’s Apama FX eCommerce solution with Fluent Trade Technologies’ FIXation Framework. The two firms believe that the surveillance software will be the “fastest feed handler and execution gateway in the market."

The new platform includes connectivity to more than 60 Foreign Exchange (FX) venues in a single API, pre-trade risk protection, as well as execution capabilities including algorithmic trading, cross-venue Smart Order Routing, pricing, auto-hedging and order internalization strategies. With the diversity of the features, Software AG and Fluent Trade Technologies are positioning the platform as a solution to meet the needs of both front-end traders and back office compliance officers.

As an FX surveillance tool, the platform is expected to provide traders with a low-latency solution to locate and send orders for the best prices in the market. On the other hand, the pre-trade monitoring provides protection to high-frequency trading risks when exposure increases beyond set limits. The product also alerts compliance personnel about abnormal trading behavior which can be the result of a ‘runaway’ algorithm.

Acquired by Software AG from Progress Software in June 2013, Apama uses complex event processing technology to monitor data, of which its technology, among many things, is used by Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term providers in the FX sector to dynamically adjust spreads. Fluent Trade Technologies' solutions appear in many FX buy-side and prime brokerage platforms where their technology monitors pre-trade risk and low latency feed handling.

Commenting in the joint statement, Dr. John Bates, Software AG board member and Apama founder, noted, “The FX market today is fragmented across multiple entities including ECNs and Single-Bank Platforms. Each of these entities offers their own cost models, trading mechanisms, access protocols, order types, trading rules, and most importantly their own instantaneous view of liquidity. This level of fragmentation presents many challenges for dealers and market makers alike. The Apama FX eCommerce solution minimizes these challenges by providing functionality - out of the box - that provides a bird’s eye view of this fragmented market in real-time. Additionally, Fluent FIXation Framework's capabilities add a whole new dimension of speed and unification to the equation, adding microsecond accessibility to more than 60 FX venues.”

Joel Steinmetz, Managing Director, Fluent Trade Technologies, added “Speed keeps you ahead of the competition, but memories of trading institutions with ‘runaway algos’ remind us all that real-time detection and prevention of abnormal or suspect algorithm behavior is essential. Fluent Trade Technologies’ risk prevention functionality enables both traders and compliance officers to eliminate risk arising from market shifts and protocol changes. Moreover, Fluent's ‘risk-to-risk’ system allows automatic synchronization between FIXation's risk layer and any in-house legacy risk systems, thus taking into account any additional circumstances that could affect trading thresholds.”