The upcoming European and UK transition to a T+1 settlement cycle could see firms pushed to explore instantaneous settlement on some ETF trades, a process which could be wrought with operational challenges, The TRADE has learnt. Jim GoldieThe move to T+1 settlement cycle across Europe’s markets in October 2027 means misalignment with the US with regards to ETFs trading will no longer be a problem, however there will still be divergence with other markets which remain on T+2. Enter the Thursday conundrum 2.0 – an inverse of the similar style challenge from the US move in May 2024. Given the difference between the settlement regimes in the US, and in the UK and Europe following the May 2024 transition, a drop off in ETF volumes was noted on a Thursday due to the fact that brokers would in some cases have to fund positions over the weekend and were therefore charging a premium for trading. The TRADE’s coverage of the subject garnered a lot of industry attention as just one of the pain points created by divergent settlement regimes globally following the US’ decision to move to T+1 settlement last year. Speaking at the CMX conference in 2024, Jim Goldie, EMEA head of capital markets, ETFs and indexed strategies, Invesco, said: “Additional funding over the weekend will manifest itself through wider spreads. A few bps matters. Brokers are pricing two different levels, one for T+1 settlement and one more expensive option for T+2 settlement. We’re in a suboptimal place with global misalignment.” Global misalignment Given that Europe and the UK have now confirmed they will be moving to T+1 settlement in October 2027 and aligning with the US, many thought that the end of two-tiered pricing and issues relating to volumes on a Thursday was nigh. However, the October transition is set to create a new pain point with other global markets when it comes to ETF trading. After sitting down with Goldie earlier this month to unpack the UK and European roadmap to T+1, a process that he has been central to, The TRADE has learnt that an inversed version of the Thursday conundrum is set to take centre stage in ETFs trading thanks to a misalignment with other global markets that remain on T+2.  As opposed to buying ETFs tracking US securities at a premium on a Thursday, the industry could now see a dynamic where ETFs containing global T+2 securities are being sold at a discount.  The key issue relates to the primary trades on T-1 funds whereby firms take global ETF trade orders on a T-1 basis using the closing price from the previous day given that some markets will already be closed thanks to the time difference. If a broker is trading a global ETF in a secondary market on a T+1 basis and they have to go to the primary market to place a creation to facilitate that settlement, that creation being done on a T-1 basis would mean that they would have to settle that creation trade T0 to match their settlement obligations for their secondary market trade on T+1.  “If we can’t offer T0 then it’s likely that those trades would automatically fail,” explains Goldie. “The price effect on ETFs containing US securities will disappear, however, when Europe migrates to T+1 we will now have to try and settle T0 for primary trades on T-1 funds, which is something that we haven’t had to do before. That we can do, but there’s just certain operational considerations that we need to look at to be able to facilitate that.” He adds: “The reason it’s more profound on a Thursday is because their creation trade with us or their hedge trade with the futures or the underlying stocks will settle Friday, but their trade with the client won’t settle until Monday. Over that weekend they have to fund that cash position. When interest rates are high, that cost is obviously going to be larger on a daily basis.” “Rather than it be this pricing dynamic where on a Thursday you’re buying ETFs tracking US securities at a premium, what you’re going to see is a pricing dynamic on a Thursday for ETFs containing T+2 securities when you’re selling them at a discount.” The post The T+1 Thursday conundrum pushing instantaneous settlement on traders appeared first on The TRADE.

Trading technology provider Etrading Software has been named the UK bond consolidated tape provider (CTP) by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA). Etrading Software beat out three other bidders to win the contract, the watchdog confirmed. Specifically, the firm will take on a contract valued at £4.8 million including VAT to deliver the tape, estimated to begin on 5 January 2026 for a five-year period. The decision comes at the end of the tender process for the tape, which was launched in March 2025 followed by a price auction in August, with four applications received in total, and three tenders assessed in the final stage. Additional bidders in the tender process included Ediphy (fairCT), TransFICC and BondTape, a consortium between Finbourne Technology and Propellant Digital. Speaking to The TRADE about the decision, Neil Ryan, chief executive-designate and project lead at BondTape, said: “Congratulations to the ETS team and we welcome the final part of the journey to present a high quality, transparent and competitively priced bond tape to the UK markets.” Read more – FIX Trading Community publishes updated MMT ahead of upcoming European consolidated tape The delivery of a consolidated tape for bonds is expected to collate trades executed on trading venues as well as over-the-counter (OTC) trades, in an effort to provide the market with greater transparency and liquidity. The announcement follows news in July that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) had selected Ediphy (fairCT) to be the first CTP for bonds in the EU, following a six-month application assessment process. The FCA confirmed that the award notice, announced on 29 August, is now followed by an eight-day standstill period, whereby unsuccessful bidders will have the opportunity to challenge the authority’s decision. Etrading Software declined to comment when contacted by The TRADE. The post Etrading Software wins UK bond CTP tender beating out three other bidders appeared first on The TRADE.

Nomura has appointed Filippo Zorzoli as head of global markets sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as part of the firm’s effort to bolster its global markets division.  Zorzoli will be based out of London in his new role and is set to help Nomura expand its footprint across the EMEA region. He will report to Nat Tyce, head of global markets, EMEA and global co-head of rates, as well as Samir Patel, global head of global markets sales.  Zorzoli brings more than 20 years of senior sales, trading and structuring experience to his new role, and joins from Barclays, where he most recently served as global head of rates and solutions sales.  Prior to this, he also worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, covering roles including head of structuring for EMEA, as well as head of EMEA rate sales, repo sales and structuring. He began his career covering fixed income structuring at Goldman Sachs, later going on to co-head the firm’s equity exotics trading desk.  Read more – Nomura to acquire Macquarie US and EU asset management units for $1.8 billion Zorzoli’s appointment also coincides with Gary Hyman’s move from head of public-side sales, EMEA at Nomura, to become the firm’s vice-chair of EMEA global markets, based in Dubai.  Hyman has been at Nomura for more than 15 years, and his tenure has covered various roles including co-head of G10 global rates sales, head of macro-sales, Japan and head of sales, Australia.  He has also previously held director and managerial roles and RBS, Shinsei Bank and Credit Suisse.  Speaking on the appointments, Tyce said: “We are confident that Filippo’s deep understanding of the EMEA client landscape combined with his extensive product expertise will help us build on the strong foundations established under Gary Hyman’s leadership and drive the next phase of client franchise growth in EMEA.” The post Nomura taps Barclays for EMEA global markets sales head appeared first on The TRADE.

Ian Power has joined BTIG as managing director, head of EMEA outsource trading as the firm continues to expand its outsourced trading offering amid market shifts in the space. Power had most recently served as head of UBS’ Execution Hub, EMEA, appointed to the role just weeks prior to UBS’ decision to shutter its outsourcing service. Power left the business following its decision to exit, as revealed by The TRADE at the time. Read more: UBS makes shock exit from outsourced trading gameIn his new role, Power is set to build out the offering – as he did previously at UBS – across EMEA, The TRADE understands. Privately owned investment bank and execution broker BTIG is a long-standing operator within this sphere, having run an outsourced trading business for the last 20 years. Specifically, BTIG’s outsourced service comprises six outsource buy-side trading desks globally with more than 25 dedicated outsource traders. Currently, the firm’s outsourced trading offering has in excess of 600 clients, with plans in place to grow this further in the coming months. Read more: Outsourced trading: Easy to do, difficult to get right The firm’s expansion comes as other firms, most recently BNP Paribas, have also announced exits from the outsourced trading game.In light of this, some banks, including names such as BNY, State Street and Northern Trust, as well as BTIG, are investing in the service to fill the void (as are some smaller shops offering specialised outsourced trading services). BTIG declined to comment when approached by The TRADE. The post BTIG adds former UBS outsourced trading head to bolster EMEA team appeared first on The TRADE.

Stifel has made an addition to its execution services team, appointing Matthew McNestry as managing director in low-touch trading, The TRADE can reveal.  London-based McNestry brings more than 20 years of industry experience spanning electronic trading, portfolio trading and sales to his new role, and is set to help drive the growth of Stifel’s low-touch franchise with institutional clients.  In his new position, he will report to Seema Arora, managing director and head of execution services at Stifel, who said: “Matt’s vast experience across low-touch solutions, including electronic and portfolio trading, will be instrumental in enhancing our product development and strengthening our connectivity with the institutional client base.”McNestry joins the US investment bank from Euronext, where he spent almost five years as head of sales, global buy-side and liquidity providers.  Prior to this, he also worked at Goldman Sachs from 2014 to 2019, joining the firm in a role covering equity principal liquidity solutions, EMEA, before later becoming head of execution platform sales for EMEA. Previously in his career, he has also worked across delta one, program sales trading and electronic trading at JP Morgan, Nomura and Lehman Brothers.  Read more – T. Rowe Price EM fixed income trading head departs for Stifel McNestry’s appointment marks a further hire for Stifel’s execution services team in recent months. In August 2025, Darryl Willoughby joined the firm from Pareto Securities to become managing director, looking after pan-European trading. Similarly, Stifel appointed Sarrah Chaker as a sales trader covering US markets to European clients in June, as revealed by The TRADE at the time. The post Stifel expands execution services team with Euronext hire appeared first on The TRADE.

Global post-trade services provider, OSTTRA, has added Eurex Clearing to its interest rate initial margin (IM) and capital optimisation service, triBalance. Erik PetriThe move will integrate Eurex’s over-the-counter (OTC) cleared contracts into OSTTRA triBalance optimisation runs, with the collaboration expected to reduce counterparty risk and add efficiencies to OTC derivatives portfolios. The addition also marks an expansion triBalance’s current clearing house coverage, and is set to allow the service to provide greater initial margin and capital optimisation across major central clearing counterparties (CCPs). The service currently also includes LSEG’s LCH, CME Clearing and Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC).  “This collaboration builds upon the strong relationships OSTTRA is cultivating with clearinghouses and other key entities in the derivative market landscape, thereby broadening global access and efficiency for portfolio optimisation,” said Erik Petri, head of optimisation at OSTTRA. “As we continue to integrate more CCPs into the triBalance service, our clients will see continuous gains in margin and capital optimisation results, and importantly achieve risk reduction in venues previously beyond the scope of optimisation services.” OSTTRA’s triBalance service covers both cleared and uncleared OTC asset classes, ranging across interest rate products, deliverable and non-deliverable FX forwards, equity derivatives, credit default swaps and commodity derivatives.  Danny Chart, global product lead, OTC IRD at Eurex Clearing, said: “In an environment of heightened market volatility, ensuring clearing members have access to risk management services like OSTTRA’s triBalance is paramount. Through this collaboration, we are empowering clearing members to shift bilateral interest rate risk into Eurex Clearing, and by doing so significantly reduce counterparty risk and enhance margin efficiency through effective netting.” The integration marks a further development in a string of significant news for OSTTRA this year. In April, CME Group and S&P Global signed a definitive agreement to sell the provider to investment funds managed by KKR, in a deal valued at $3.1 billion.  KKR confirmed that it will focus on increasing OSTTRA’s investments in technology and innovation across the platform.  The post OSTTRA onboards Eurex Clearing onto optimisation service appeared first on The TRADE.

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs moved to expand its high touch trading team with the addition of Lucy Heighton and Lorraine Wyley, as revealed by The TRADE.A spokesperson for Goldman confirmed their appointments.Lucy Heighton and Lorraine Wyley join the bank from RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies respectively and bring almost 35 years of combined experience to the role.   Heighton joins the high touch desk at Goldman after four years at RBC in an equity sales trading role. Previously, she also spent almost 15 years at Morgan Stanley in a similar capacity.  Wyley joins Goldman after most recently serving at Jefferies for almost three years in an equity sales trading role. Previously in her career, she also spent five and a half years at Numis Securities and almost three years at Goodbody Stockbrokers.Citi Jamie Miller and Abdul Satti have been named co-heads of EMEA electronic execution.Previously, Miller, who has been with Citi for almost a decade, served as head of EMEA electronic equity sales trading and before that as an equity sales trader.  His expertise encompasses cash equity execution, and high touch and portfolio equity sales trading.Satti most recently headed up the Execution Advisory Services (EAS) offering at the bank. Together, the co-heads are set to lead Citi’s client-centric and product-focused strategy in electronic execution, The TRADE understands. Specifically, London-based Satti and Miller will oversee all sales, sales trading, EAS and algo trading functions.Elsewhere, Citi has appointed Yashar Asl has been appointed head of cash execution risk and quantitative services. He joined the bank as head of electronic trading for its EMEA equities business in 2023, and in the new role is set to focus on building a global quant product. All three new hires will report into Sam Baig, head of cash execution, The TRADE understands. Elsewhere, Karl Purdy has joined Citi as an equity trader having most recently worked at JP Morgan as an equity trader.   Purdy previously worked at European equities business Cazenove until the firm was acquired by JP Morgan in 2010. Purdy will be based out of Paris in his new position, where he is set to support the firm in a high-touch trading role.   Citi and JP Morgan declined to comment on his appointment. Stifel  Joe Gilbert has left T. Rowe Price after almost 20 years to join Stifel as a director covering fixed income trading. London-based Gilbert brings extensive industry experience spanning emerging markets and fixed income to his new role.  He most recently served as head of emerging markets fixed income trading at T. Rowe Price, and during his nearly two decade-long stint at the firm, he has worked across the firm’s investment strategies and portfolio management.   He initially joined T. Rowe Price in September 2005, supporting the investment teams by delivering research reports. Kepler Cheuvreux Kepler Cheuvreux appointed Eva Gripsten to the role of senior credit sales, as part of the firm’s push to expand its fixed income franchise. Gripsten will be based out of the firm’s Stockholm office in her new role and is set to assume the responsibility for the coverage of Nordic accounts. Gripsten brings more than two decades of industry experience to her new role, and joins from SEB, where she spent seven years covering real estate debt capital markets origination. Prior to this, she was a partner at Arctic Securities for five years, working across Nordic institutional accounts spanning investment grade (IG), high yield (HY) and distressed credit.  Previously in her career, she has also worked across commodities and credit sales at firms including Nordea Markets, Natixis and Morgan Stanley.  SIX Digital Exchange SIX Digital Exchange’s (SDX) head David Newns is set to step down from his role after almost four years with the firm.  Newns, who is based in Zurich, initially joined SDX in October 2021 with a mandate to take the exchange into its next phase of full operations and growth.  Before joining SDX, Newns previously spent more than 15 years at State Street in various different roles, such as global head of GlobalLink Execution Services, overseeing the bank’s FX electronic trading platforms. Prior to this, he also served in roles as chief operating officer and senior manager for eExchange, State Street Global Markets, before later becoming the global head of Currenex from 2014 to 2017. He originally joined Currenex in 2001, serving as a founding member of the firm’s London operation. Newns is also currently a member on the AsiaNext board of directors.The post People Moves Monday: Goldman Sachs, Citi, Stifel, Kepler Cheuvreux, and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Nikko Asset Management will no henceforth be known as Amova Asset Management following a rebrand which takes effect today, 1 September.Specifically, the firm explained that the ‘Am’ stands for the core asset management business, whilst the ‘mov’ represents movement with the changing investment landscape.In addition, the ‘ova’, from the Latin nova, refers to newness – including expansion into new frontiers, and new innovations.The rebrand – initially announced in September 2024 – is intended to “more precisely embody the current iteration of the firm’s management policy and set the stage for further global growth,” said Amova AM.Following the move, the firm will still remain a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group.The post Nikko AM officially renames to Amova Asset Management appeared first on The TRADE.

Goldman Sachs has moved to expand its high touch trading team with the addition of Lucy Heighton and Lorraine Wyley, The TRADE can reveal. Lucy Heighton, Lorraine WyleyA spokesperson for Goldman confirmed their appointments. Lucy Heighton and Lorraine Wyley join the bank from RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies respectively and bring almost 35 years of combined experience to the role.  Heighton joins the high touch desk at Goldman after four years at RBC in an equity sales trading role. Previously, she also spent almost 15 years at Morgan Stanley in a similar capacity.  Wyley joins Goldman after most recently serving at Jefferies for almost three years in an equity sales trading role. Previously in her career, Wyley also spent five and a half years at Numis Securities and almost three years at Goodbody Stockbrokers.The post Goldman Sachs bolsters high touch trading desk with two additions appeared first on The TRADE.

Jamie Miller and Abdul Satti have been named co-heads of EMEA electronic execution.Jamie Miller, Abdul SattiPreviously, Miller, who has been with Citi for almost a decade, served as head of EMEA electronic equity sales trading and before that as an equity sales trader. His expertise encompasses cash equity execution, and high touch and portfolio equity sales trading.Satti most recently headed up the Execution Advisory Services (EAS) offering at the bank.Together, the co-heads are set to lead Citi’s client-centric and product-focused strategy in electronic execution, The TRADE understands. Specifically, London-based Satti and Miller will oversee all sales, sales trading, EAS and algo trading functions. Elsewhere, Citi has appointed Yashar Asl has been appointed head of cash execution risk and quantitative services. He joined the bank as head of electronic trading for its EMEA equities business in 2023, and in the new role is set to focus on building a global quant product. All three new hires will report into Sam Baig, head of cash execution, The TRADE understands. Read more: Editors’ Choice Awards nominations now open for Leaders in Trading awards in London and New York Citi’s electronic trading business has had a strong performance in recent times, with higher client activity and volumes in cash equities in their recent Q2 results. Last year, the bank picked up the award for Best Provider – Large Clients in the Algorithmic Trading category at the Leaders in Trading awards.The post Citi names new co-heads of EMEA electronic execution appeared first on The TRADE.

The successful execution of the first fully electronic bilateral multi-asset package list trade has occurred between Citi and the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), facilitated by Tradeweb. This is the latest in various developments across the market when it comes to the evolution of bilateral trading.Where complexity has meant challenging workflows this far, execution is continuing to be streamlined, and risk reduced, to expand the capabilities of the strategy. Su Liu, head of GBP rates trading and head of EMEA linear trading for franchise and strategy, Citi, said: “This milestone underscores our commitment to supporting new trading workflows that streamline execution and bring innovation and efficiency to the market. We look forward to continuing to materially improve liquidity provision for our clients trading uncleared derivatives.” Read more: Participants keeping watchful eye on growing bilateral trading segment in 2025Angus McDiarmid, head of European interest rate derivatives at Tradeweb further highlighted the importance of this move, indicating that it represents a meaningful step toward digitising uncleared derivatives workflows.McDiarmid added: “These workflows have traditionally involved operational complexity and challenges for market participants. By leveraging the building blocks of cleared trading workflows, we continue to focus on solutions that streamline execution, reduce operational risk, and enhance scalability across the bilateral trading landscape.”The post Citi and Pension Insurance Corporation execute first fully electronic bilateral multi-asset package list trade via Tradeweb appeared first on The TRADE.

BNP Paribas will no longer offer outsourced trading services to external clients and instead turn its attention to solely servicing its internal asset management units, The TRADE has learnt.The story was first reported by Financial News yesterday.The news marks the second announcement from a major bank in the outsourced trading space this year after UBS made a shock exit from the sector in March.BNP Paribas’ unit was much smaller than UBS in comparison when measured by number of clients and breadth of services. Sources told The TRADE that UBS’ closure of its outsourced trading offering would result in very little operational impact following the decision.A BNP Paribas spokesperson declined to comment.BNP Paribas is set to continue to service its internal asset management units which are growing substantially through M&A.The outsourced trading unit sits within BNP Paribas’ securities services division and had featured in The TRADE’s Outsourced Trading Survey over the past two years. Around half of the bank’s responses came from internal units of BNP Paribas in 2023, with the percentage then increasing over the next two years.One of the unit’s largest clients was RailPen, the investment manager for the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) in the UK, which appointed BNP Paribas in 2015 to manage its dealing activities.In 2021 however, RailPen decided to re-insource the trading desk, in one of the most high-profile U-turns on outsourced trading, dealing a blow to BNP Paribas’ unit.As outsourced trading continues to grow in popularity among the buy-side – whether it’s an all-in model or a hybrid approach – banks, prime brokers and boutique firms continue to invest in their offerings in a competitive landscape. This has only been furthered by the exit of UBS leaving clients looking for a new home.Despite the exits of UBS and BNP Paribas from the sphere, many other banks such as BNY, State Street and Northern Trust are investing in their services, while other independents and aspiring service providers have been capturing business in the budding space.The post BNP Paribas to stop offering outsourced trading to external clients appeared first on The TRADE.

Kepler Cheuvreux has appointed Eva Gripsten to the role of senior credit sales, as part of the firm’s push to expand its fixed income franchise. Eva GripstenGripsten will be based out of the firm’s Stockholm office in her new role and is set to assume the responsibility for the coverage of Nordic accounts. Speaking to The TRADE, Stephan Kovarski, head of debt and credit developed markets at Kepler Cheuvreux said: “Eva’s appointment marks the firm’s local expansion into Nordic credit, building on more than 25 years of presence in the region, and reflects our dedication to addressing the needs of investors there.” Gripsten brings more than two decades of industry experience to her new role, and joins from SEB, where she spent seven years covering real estate debt capital markets origination.  Prior to this, she was a partner at Arctic Securities for five years, working across Nordic institutional accounts spanning investment grade (IG), high yield (HY) and distressed credit.  Previously in her career, she has also worked across commodities and credit sales at firms including Nordea Markets, Natixis and Morgan Stanley.  Read more – Kepler Cheuvreux expands global sales and execution teams with three new appointments Gripsten’s appointment follows similar hires in Kepler Cheuvreux’s fixed income franchise in recent months. In June 2025, the firm named Henri Sinet as senior credit sales in Paris, who joined from Mizuho where he had worked as a credit trader.  The post Kepler Cheuvreux bolsters fixed income business with senior credit sales hire appeared first on The TRADE.

SIX Digital Exchange’s (SDX) head David Newns is set to step down from his role after almost four years with the firm.  Newns, who is based in Zurich, initially joined SDX in October 2021 with a mandate to take the exchange into its next phase of full operations and growth.  During his time at SDX, the exchange achieved many industry ‘firsts’, including digital bond issuance on a fully regulated financial market infrastructure (FMI), and interoperability between digital and traditional FMI.  Additionally, in March 2025, SIX announced that it had integrated SDX into its Securities Services business to centralise digital bond trading and other digital assets onto the exchange’s infrastructure, effective 1 June. Speaking in an announcement on social media, Newns said: “Together, we have achieved so much and led the way for our industry.  As I stand here in 2025, the future for digital assets has never looked brighter. Having fully incorporated SDX into SIX Securities Services under Bjørn Sibbern and Rafael Moral Santiago’s leadership, the next phase in digital enablement at SIX Group is already underway!” Read more – SIX promotes its global exchange head to become CEO as Dijsselhof steps down Before joining SDX, Newns previously spent more than 15 years at State Street in various different roles, such as global head of GlobalLink Execution Services, overseeing the bank’s FX electronic trading platforms.  Prior to this, he also served in roles as chief operating officer and senior manager for eExchange, State Street Global Markets, before later becoming the global head of Currenex from 2014 to 2017.  He originally joined Currenex in 2001, serving as a founding member of the firm’s London operation.  Newns is also currently a member on the AsiaNext board of directors.  Speaking on the departure, a spokesperson for SIX said: “We wish him [Newns] the best for his future career and thank him for his fantastic work with SIX during the last years.” The post SIX Digital Exchange head departs after nearly four years appeared first on The TRADE.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has partnered with Nasdaq to make use of the exchange’s Market Surveillance platform, in a bid to enhance market oversight.  Caroline PhamThe collaboration is set to support integrated monitoring across CFTC markets and provide scalable surveillance capabilities to promote market integrity. Additionally, the integration of Nasdaq’s surveillance technology suite is expected to provide sophisticated tools to help CFTC in addressing growth in traditional and new derivatives markets and products, with recent developments spanning the increasing uptake of extended trading hours and market structure innovation.  “As our markets continue to evolve and integrate new technology, it’s critical that the CFTC stays ahead of the curve,” said acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham. “Nasdaq Market Surveillance will, for the first time, provide the CFTC with automated alerts and cross-market analytics that will benefit each of the CFTC’s operating divisions and better protect our markets from fraud, manipulation and abuse. This new suite of solutions will also improve efficiency in analysing market trends and identifying unusual or disruptive trading activity so that our lean and talented staff can take appropriate action more quickly.” Read more – CFTC approves Eurex dividend options for US trading The move also follows a pledge made by acting chair Pham in March 2025, which stated that the CFTC would provide an enhanced market surveillance system to modernise and upgrade the commission’s system. Currently, Nasdaq’s Market Surveillance covers more than 50 exchanges and 20 international regulators, and delivers services for traditional and digital asset classes, including cross-market monitoring, analytics and fraud detection.  Tal Cohen, Nasdaq president said: “Today’s financial markets demand advanced surveillance technology that can adapt to rapid regulatory evolution and emerging asset classes.” “As both an owner and operator of heavily regulated markets, as well as a technology provider to financial services companies worldwide, Nasdaq occupies a unique position at the intersection of innovation and regulation.” The post CFTC and Nasdaq partner to provide advanced surveillance capabilities appeared first on The TRADE.

Joe Gilbert has left T. Rowe Price after almost 20 years to join Stifel as a director covering fixed income trading.  London-based Gilbert brings extensive industry experience spanning emerging markets and fixed income to his new role. He most recently served as head of emerging markets fixed income trading at T. Rowe Price, and during his nearly two decade-long stint at the firm, he has worked across the firm’s investment strategies and portfolio management.  He initially joined T. Rowe Price in September 2005, supporting the investment teams by delivering research reports.  Speaking on social media, Gilbert said: “After nearly 20 years at T. Rowe Price, I’ve decided it’s time for a new challenge. There are too many people to thank individually, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from so many generous mentors along the way.” Read more – Stifel mulls UK sales trading exits as cash equities job cuts bite Gilbert’s new role follows significant hires for Stifel in the last few months. In August, the firm hired Darryl Willoughby into its execution services team, where he will take on the position of managing director, looking after pan-European trading.  Similarly, in June, the investment bank appointed Sarrah Chaker as a sales trader covering US markets to European clients, as reported by The TRADE at the time.  The post T. Rowe Price EM fixed income trading head departs for Stifel appeared first on The TRADE.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate a new PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) platform, a new type of private stock market.Julia HoggettThe PISCES Approval Notice approves the LSE to operate a PISCES as a sandbox entrant. The LSE has been involved since the UK Government opened a consultation on the world’s first regulated public-private crossover market back in March 2024, subsequently submitting its PISCES application earlier this year. In March 2024, the UK Government announced that PISCES transactions are exempt from stamp duty, therefore reducing the cost and simplifying transactions for investors. Other recent reforms set to bolster IPOs in the region is the government’s confirmation that existing EMI (Enterprise Management Incentive) and CSOP (Company Share Option Plan) options will be allowed to be amended – and therefore able to be sold on PISCES venues whilst retaining their tax efficient status. IPOs in the UK have been on a decline for some time, with UK watchdogs having taken several measures in an attempt to boost participation, among these is the elimination for the need for a three-year revenue track record, and the requirement for a controlling-shareholder agreement. The LSE’s new platform is set to boost secondary market liquidity and drive growth and investment across UK private companies, with the boost in liquidity also set to contribute positively to the IPO pipeline. Specifically, PISCES brings together buyers and sellers to trade on an intermittent basis. Julia Hoggett, chief executive at the London Stock Exchange, said: “Following several years of innovative development by the UK Government and regulators with active engagement from practitioners across the market, the London Stock Exchange has now taken a significant step towards the launch of our Private Securities Market later this year.”The market expects the LSE’s launch to allow for simplified trading and settlement processes in the private sphere, with regulatory specifics set to be clarified going forward. Read more: A deep dive into the ongoing UK capital markets reform agenda“We are delighted to announce the first PISCES operator has been approved, marking a major milestone in our drive to boost growth and unlock capital investment,” said Simon Walls, executive director of markets at the FCA.“We are looking forward to seeing the first transactions, seeding a competitive market that gives greater investor access to exciting growth companies. This new market demonstrates our commitment to the creation of a genuine funding continuum from the private to public markets so that businesses in the UK and around the world can be effectively supported across all stages of their growth.” The post PISCES private stock market to launch on London Stock Exchange appeared first on The TRADE.

EquiLend has expanded its partnership with investment bank, EFG Hermes, to now also cover trading through the use of its Next Generation Trading (NGT) platform, marking the firm’s first trading client based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dimitri ArlandoThe new offering is set to support EFG Hermes as global demand for Saudi equities increases, as well as supporting the expansion of the local Saudi Arabian market and securities finance industry.  The two firms’ previous collaboration saw EFG Hermes going live with EquiLend’s post-trade services and the move also makes the investment bank, which operates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the first client in Saudia Arabia to fully adopt EquiLend’s full suite of post-trade and trading automation. Dimitri Arlando, head of EMEA sales at EquiLend, said: “EFG Hermes will not only benefit from automation, which will highlight them as an attractive counterparty to trade with, but connecting to the EquiLend ecosystem will also help EFG Hermes access more demand for Saudi equities from market participants across the globe.” Specifically, the combined offering is expected to support EFG Hermes in accessing greater global liquidity, enhanced activity visibility and enhance operations through EquiLend’s suite which provides of automated execution and lifecycle management.  “Our partnership with EFG Hermes reflects EquiLend’s commitment to delivering market-leading technology that meets the needs of firms across the Kingdom, the United Arabic Emirates, the GCC region, and around the world,” said Rich Grossi, chief executive of EquiLend.  The partnership follows EquiLend’s recent acquisition of front-office technology provider, Trading Apps, in July 2025, which brings a suite of tools aimed at automating front-office workflows into EquiLend’s portfolio, including the Lender and Borrower Apps. The post EquiLend expands EFG Hermes relationship to cover trading via the NGT platform appeared first on The TRADE.

AI-powered trading solutions provider, BTON, has received a strategic investment from  venture capital firm, Celero Ventures, as part of an effort to bolster AI-driven execution intelligence across the industry.  Dan ShepherdThe investment is expected to support the growth and expansion of BTON’s offering in the US and help develop new AI-powered solutions focused on improving execution quality. The investment also follows news in January 2025 that BTON had expanded its offering to launch in the US, following increasing optimism around the AI space in the region.   “The game has changed – data is now central to execution quality, and attitudes in finance have shifted,” said Dan Shepherd, chief executive of BTON.  “Our mission is to be the go-to provider of AI and collaborative data solutions for institutional trading.” Specifically, BTON aims to support buy-side clients by connecting trading desks to brokers through collaborative data, and its AI-powered broker recommendation system transforms the traditional broker selection process by leveraging advanced neural network algorithms to predict slippage and dynamically match orders to the optimal broker. “BTON embodies exactly the kind of forward-looking technology we want to back – software that fundamentally reshapes how an industry works,” said David Wyatt, partner at Celero Ventures.  “Their approach to collaborative data and AI addresses one of the biggest challenges in institutional trading: improving execution quality without disrupting workflows.” The investment also follows further developments for BTON in recent months. In December 2024, the firm partnered with OptimX Markets to deliver AI analytics for European block liquidity, in a move which sought to offer financial institutions a ‘seamless’ way to receive cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative analysis tools.  The post BTON receives investment from Celero Ventures to bolster AI-driven execution intelligence appeared first on The TRADE.

Karl Purdy has joined Citi as an equity trader having most recently worked at JP Morgan as an equity trader. Purdy previously worked at European equities business Cazenove until the firm was acquired by JP Morgan in 2010. Purdy will be based out of Paris in his new position, where he is set to support the firm in a high-touch trading role. Citi and JP Morgan declined to comment on the appointment.  Purdy’s appointment is the latest JP Morgan hire for Citi in recent months. In August 2025, the firm named Tom Prickett as head of G10 rates for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), a newly created role.  Similarly, Citi appointed former JP Morgan global equities executive director Andrew Bruce as director and head of low-touch execution for its Australian markets business, as part of the firm’s effort to bolster its offering in the region in May 2025.  Purdy confirmed his new role in a social media announcement. The post JP Morgan equity trader departs for Citi appeared first on The TRADE.