Marex has bolstered its electronic offering, appointing Christophe Roupie as global head of electronic trading and platforms.  Roupie brings more than three decades of industry experience to his new role, spanning cross-asset trading, securities financing, collateral management, regulatory reporting and data management.  Speaking in an announcement on social media, Roupie said: “I am honoured and humbled to be joining as the global head of electronic trading and platforms.  “To my new colleagues, I am looking forward to all our future achievements as the company continues to grow across markets and products.” He joins the firm after an eight-year tenure at MarketAxess, where he served as head of EMEA and APAC, and chief executive for the UK.  During his time at MarketAxess, he oversaw the firm’s electronic bond trading, data and post-trade businesses across more than 60 countries in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.  Previously in his career, Roupie also held the role of global head of trading and securities financing at AXA Investment Managers for 10 years, based out of Paris.  He has also worked at Natixis Asset Management and Tradition.  Read more – Marex to act as clearing firm for SGX crypto perpetual futures Marex had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  In October 2025, Marex announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire European fixed income market maker, Valcourt, which will see 700 clients integrated into Marex’s business.  Specifically, the deal is set to allow the firm to diversify its platform and earnings by bringing the Swiss institutional community into its distribution offering.  The post Marex appoints former MarketAxess UK chief executive to lead global electronic trading appeared first on The TRADE.

Extended trading hours – arguably one of the hottest topics in the industry at the moment. With some trading platforms in the US already offering after hours trading, and others exploring the notion, the question most debated when it comes to the topic lies with what impact this will have on the wider industry. More specifically, how will this potential change affect the buy-side, sell-side, exchanges, tech providers, differently? These topics were unpacked in The TRADE’s extended trading hours-focused webinar, ’24/7 equities trading – A red herring or an inevitable reality?’.Featuring industry experts from firms including T.Rowe Price, Glenmede Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, and Clear Street, among others, the discussion explored all sides of the extended trading hours argument.  Is the buy-side hungry for extended trading hours? It’s no secret that in the last few years, the markets have experienced a certain ‘democratisation’, with retail – particularly in the US – expanding and opening up the industry further. Embedded in this, is the concept of extending trading hours, to complement the new participants coming into the market, and suit the needs of those looking to trade outside of regular trading hours, with experts citing participants such as those in the APAC region. However, discussions during the webinar turned towards whether the concept of expanding trading hours has grown enough within the industry to truly merit as much attention as it has done.  Speaking to this, Mehmet Kinak, global head of equity trading at T. Rowe Price, said: “From my perspective, the need for all exchanges to jump into this foray when there is on average 30 million shares trading seems a little early. I’m sceptical that we need that much of a change in our industry, but I’m also told that this is inevitable, and as technology and the DTCC support this, it’s only a matter of time.” This sentiment was also reiterated by other speakers, including Melissa Hinmon, director of equity trading at Glenmede Investment Management, who shared that from Glenmede’s perspective, there is not yet an appetite for extended hours trading.  Data as a barrier  As discussions focused on what may drive institutional firms to move towards extended trading, participants in the webinar also highlighted a lack of data and trade reporting for overnight sessions as a possible hurdle. Specifically, for participants such as long-only firms, unlike hedge funds which may be looking for overnight trading, they are aiming to mitigate alpha slippage, therefore trading in an overnight session could pose problems of volatility and illiquidity. This was also emphasised by Kinak, who said that for firms such as these, a lack of data and trade reporting makes it difficult to understand the makeup of what’s trading overnight.  He explained: “There’s no trade reporting facility that takes place during overnight hours, there’s no market best bid and offers (MBBOs) so you can’t see where the best quotes may be, what sizes they are, what’s being traded live during these sessions. “Without that type of visibility, there is zero interest from an institutional perspective to jump into the fray, because we’re trying to balance our need for liquidity with reducing information leakage.” Bifurcation between the buy- and sell-side As the prospect of extended trading hours grows due to certain areas of demand across the industry, most notably, as previously discussed, from retail sectors and clients in the APAC region, between the buy- and sell-side, there appears to be a bifurcation of opinion. Specifically, a proportion of the sell-side are seemingly beginning to perk their ears up at the idea, while the buy-side still appears to be wary of taking part. Explaining this, Jesse Forster, head of equity market structure and technology at Coalition Greenwich, commented: “On the sell-side, there is a bit of a fear of missing out, because no one really knows if it’s better to be the first mover, or the second mover, so there’s a mentality of where do we want to be? For the buy-side, however, there’s whispers of not really wanting this. Some opinions are that just because they want to interact with retail doesn’t mean they want to auction with them in this method.” He also referenced the demand sector, adding: “Asian retail brokerage heads swear there is massive overnight demand among their client base once they get a US exchange as a seal of approval. It could be a case of it they build it, they will come, but if the US buy-side doesn’t come, we’ll end up with an even further bifurcated market.” The potential liquidity impact that may come with extending trading hours was a further concern emphasised by experts during the webinar discussion, with particular reference to recent bouts of volatility and turbulence experienced over the past year.  However, for Peter Eliades, head of electronic execution at Clear Street, this confluence of volatility and extended trading may pose opportunities for clients looking at this form of trading. He said: “Current administration has accelerated overnight and macro news flows, which has been exciting opportunistically for some clients, either to make more markets, or take some directional bets. The clients that are looking at this are okay with some volatility, and they’re looking for some episodic trading to help them either reduce risk or to get into positions they feel are aligned with their investment thesis.” Challenges of ensuring firms have the correct staffing and infrastructure in place to support a shift to extended trading hours was also brought up in discussions, however for Kinak, addressing these issues is almost premature, in relation to some of the liquidity obstacles presented.  “We’re putting the cart ahead of the horse a little bit. We have a liquidity issue with overnight trading more than we have any portfolio manager or trader issue. If you look at the symbols that trade, it’s a lot of ETFs that firms like T. Rowe Price and Glenmede would not traffic in. We’re also trading in mid and small-cap names that don’t trade during the continuous session much, if at all.”  This was also supported by Hinmon, who added: “We have a responsibility to our institutional clients to ensure that we’re getting the best price for best execution. If we don’t have the metrics, the liquidity’s not there, and there’s extreme volatility, that’s a really hard thing to try to explain why we’re in the marketplace when there’s nothing really advantageous to our clients to be there.” Comparing European and US liquidity As discussions began to centre around how extending trading hours would impact the ways that firms access liquidity, experts on the webinar also drew comparisons between the US and Europe. Specifically, conversations emphasised the importance for those in Europe to look through a regional lens.  For Chris Collins, equity trader at Lazard Asset Management, introducing overnight trading may add to an already challenging liquidity problem faced by European firms; specifically, navigating overlap of trading when the US markets open, specifically referring to the greater volumes traded during the short periods when European markets coincide with US trading hours.  “In Europe we trade about a tenth of the volume on a daily basis compared to the US, so I think you run a risk,” he emphasised. “The volume is massively concentrated into the two or less hours that overlap with the US. Even a market like Norway that’s open for 55 minutes overlapping with the US has half of its volume trading in that time.” Collins also contrasted the makeup of the US and European markets, highlighting that the growth of demand for out-of-hours trading in the US is largely driven by the retail sector over there, which has a much bigger participation than in Europe. Specifically, he indicated that retail makes up 20-25% of the market, compared to approximately 5% in Europe.  “Whilst the 24-hour debate is getting very loud globally, and these discussions are important in Europe, it’s really important to look at the individual makeup of the markets and not just blindly follow what’s going on in the US. If you break down where the volumes are happening, even in the US, the vast majority of those volumes are still trading in the main six-and-a-half-hour window, so it’s a bit of a rounding error in the US, and even more so if translated to Europe.”If you build it, will they come?  Despite some pushback around the prospect of introducing extending trading to the industry, with the webinar indicating that this is largely stemming from the buy-side, it appears that, as described by Collins, the “genie is out of the bottle.” In particular, as the concept of extending trading hours is becoming more prominent in industry discussions, some sell-side firms are beginning to look to connect to these new markets, therefore creating the need for the technology and infrastructure to allow for these new ventures. Hence, from a technology vendor’s perspective, comes the “if we build it, they will buy it” argument. For Arnaud Derasse, chief technology officer at trading, data and technology provider, Exegy, if there’s a market willingness or interest, it’s natural that the technology and automation required will also spring up around this.  He said: “We’ve seen a lot of traction in the past 12 months, specifically from the sell-side, so we’ve been building feed and execution coverage for all these new exchanges. Particularly on the broker side, there’s a willingness to see what’s available.  “From a tech point of view, there’s a kind of build it and they come perspective, and potentially we may see more liquidity as the products become more available.” Looking ahead As industry discussion around extended trading hours begins to roar louder, it appears that buy-side anticipation still lags behind the sell-side and other market participants. When questioned on whether the prospect is likely to materialise, experts in the webinar were quick to assure that across the US, there are too many ongoing commercial interests to stop overnight and extended trading from making their mark.  However, as Europe slowly comes up on the heels of its overseas counterpart, discussions are shifting to the need for ongoing dialogue and broader consultation, to ensure that whatever comes has the most positive impact on the industry. Difference of opinion across different segments of the market seems to be a key driver behind uncertainty towards the prospect, as reiterated by Kinak, who asserted that “the real question is what juice is worth the squeeze here? Can we just extend the markets a little bit and make enough people happy or everyone equally dissatisfied to do enough?” Perhaps if issues such as liquidity and provision of data can be resolved, the buy-side will increasingly warm to the prospect of extended trading hours. But for now, it appears that 24/7 trading will remain on the trading horizon is some shape or form, and its impact on all corners of the industry are likely to remain a central focus of discussion for the foreseeable future. The post 24/7 equities trading – A red herring or an inevitable reality appeared first on The TRADE.

CME Group is set to leverage FairXchange’s Horizon platform as it seeks to bolster its FX execution analytics and enhance liquidity management. Specifically, the trading venue is set to deploy Horizon on EBS Direct – CME Group’s disclosed FX trading venue, used by banks and institutional investors to execute bilateral spot FX trades. The integration of Horizon is intended to improve how liquidity is priced, accessed and evaluated across the platform. Paul Houston, global head of FX products at CME Group, said the platform would strengthen EBS Direct’s analytical capabilities and support clients navigating increasingly complex FX markets. “Leveraging FairXchange’s Horizon solution will significantly enhance liquidity management for EBS Direct. This solution will empower our market participants with independent, data-driven analytics, enabling more informed decisions and optimising liquidity management and execution.” Read more: Integral integrates CME Group FX markets into workflow solution Market participants are set to benefit from greater transparency into execution quality and trading behaviour, as well as more data-driven interaction between liquidity providers and buy-side firms. Guy Hopkins, founder of FairXchange and head of capital markets at United Fintech, said:  “CME Group is one of the most significant and respected institutions in global financial markets, and their decision to select Horizon is a strong validation of our commitment to promoting transparency, collaboration and commercially sustainable trading relationships.” The post CME Group to leverage FairXchange solution to enhance FX liquidity management and execution  appeared first on The TRADE.

James Hickling has joined BNP Paribas as a rates repo trader.  Hickling brings more than a decade of industry experience to his new role, and joins the European bank after three years at the UK Debt Management Office, where he served as a cash dealer, covering gilt repo trading.  Prior to this, he also spent nearly a year at BGC Partners in London, where he worked as a broker, with a core focus on secondary products in the investment grade space spanning various currencies.  Read more – Former Credit Suisse trader joins BNP Paribas cash equities desk He has also held fixed income trading, sales and brokerage positions at LXM Group and RP Martin.  He began his industry career gaining experience at various firms including JP Morgan, Mizuho, Susquehanna and Deutsche Bank.  Hickling confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media.  BNP Paribas had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  Hickling’s new role follows the appointment of Alexander Ford as managing director, head of BNP Paribas’ UK cash sales trading last week.  London-based Ford joins the firm after nearly five years at Citi, where he served as head of equity block and liquidity solutions.  In addition, earlier this month, BNP Paribas and AXA Investment Managers combined their trading teams under the BNP Paribas Dealing Services umbrella, as part of the firm’s acquisition on AXA IM in July 2025.  The move marks the completion of all main legal mergers, and also marks the formation of BNP Paribas Asset Management as a single entity.  The post BNP Paribas bolsters fixed income business with rates repo trader hire appeared first on The TRADE.

ING has named Alex Yang as its new global head of electronic fixed income (eFI) trading.  London-based Yang joins the firm from asset management giant Millennium, where he spent three years as a quantitative researcher, covering systematic fixed income trading, corporate bonds, rates and ETFs.  Prior to this, he also spent a year at Jefferies as head of EMEA credit algorithmic trading, as well as an eight-year tenure at Citi in various roles.  Specifically, during his time at Citi he served as a credit algo front-office developer, as well as in roles spanning eFX automated trading and algo trading.  He began his industry career as a software engineer at UBS Investment Bank.  Yang confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media.  ING had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  Yang’s new role aligns with a recent shake up of ING’s senior leadership team, with David Leech succeeding Gary Prince as global head of FX trading last week.  Leech initially joined ING in 2016 as a senior FX forwards trader, before later being promoted to head of FX UK in 2023.The post ING appoints new global head of eFI trading appeared first on The TRADE.

NYSE is seeking regulatory approvals for its trading and on-chain tokenised securities settlement platform.Lynn MartinIf approved, the launch is set to enable “tokenised trading experiences”, including 24/7 trading of US listed equities and ETFs, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and stablecoin-based funding. Subject to regulatory approvals, the platform will power a new NYSE venue that supports trading of tokenised shares fungible with traditionally issued securities as well as tokens natively issued as digital securities.Specifically, the tokenised securities platform combines NYSE’s Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems.This includes the support of multiple chains for settlement and custody, confirmed the trading venue.Lynn Martin, president, NYSE Group, said: “For more than two centuries, the NYSE has transformed the way markets operate. We are leading the industry toward fully on-chain solutions, grounded in the unmatched protections and high regulatory standards that position us to marry trust with state-of-the-art technology.“Harnessing our expertise to reinvent market infrastructure is how we’ll meet and shape the demands of a digital future.”The venue design offers non-discriminatory access to all qualified broker-dealers.Read more: The dangers of digital assets and tokenisationICE – NYSE’s parent company – is in the process of preparing its wider clearing infrastructure to support 24/7 trading and the potential integration of tokenised collateral.The strategy includes work with banks including BNY and Citi to support tokenised deposits across its clearinghouses, aiming to help members manage money outside of traditional banking hours, as well as meeting margin obligations and accommodating funding requirements across different jurisdictions.Michael Blaugrund, VP of strategic initiatives, ICE, explained: “Supporting tokenised securities is a pivotal step in ICE’s strategy to operate on-chain market infrastructure for trading, settlement, custody, and capital formation in the new era of global finance.”NYSE initially proposed plans to expand weekday trading to 22 hours a day back in October 2024, with other trading venues also making strides in the space as the market continues to march towards the prospect of extended trading hours.The post NYSE moves forward with 24/7 US equities trading appeared first on The TRADE.

Amaury de Miguel has joined Bernstein’s cash equity execution team in Paris as an electronic sales trader.  In his new role, de Miguel will support execution strategy design, optimise liquidity access and reduce trading costs for Bernstein’s clients, and bring a deeper focus on electronic trading and innovation in client solutions to the trading team.  Specifically, his appointment aligns with the firm’s wider goal to build out its EEA client-facing capabilities in Paris.  He joins Bernstein from AXA Investment Managers, where he spent the past three years working across various different roles.  Read more – BNP Paribas and AXA Investment Managers trading teams unify He initially joined the French buy-side firm in 2022 as a trading engineer, before becoming an equity quantitative analyst, and later stepping up to his most recent position as an electronic trader and data scientist.  Previously in his career, he worked as a quantum computing researcher at IBM.  Bernstein confirmed de Miguel’s appointment when contacted by The TRADE.  The appointment comes following a series of significant news for Bernstein in recent months. In January, the firm confirmed that it is currently in negotiations to cut a significant number of roles from within its French office.  The move concerns up to 28 roles, with no forced redundancies, The TRADE understands. The post Bernstein expands cash equity execution team with AXA IM hire appeared first on The TRADE.

As part of an update of its Asia credit trading platform, ANZ has hired several traders and analysts in a move designed to support buy-side clients’ execution and address risk management needs. Bwochau Fu.The team is based across New York, Shanghai, and Singapore, The TRADE understands. Specifically, the bank’s re-established credit trading desk comprises five traders and two dedicated desk analysts, led by head of credit trading for Asia, Bwochau Fu, who joined the firm in H2 2025. Fu has served in senior positions at several firms, including China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Asset Management (CICC HKAM), Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley Asia, and personally covers USD bond trading in Australia and Japan on the ANZ desk. While currently his team focuses on credit flow trading in Asian sovereign, quasi-sovereign, corporate, and financial credits, primarily in USD, ANZ plans to further develop SGD and CNH credit trading capabilities in early 2026, The TRADE understands. Speaking to The TRADE about the team’s priorities, Fu explains: “We now have the right people in place across regions and products. The focus is straightforward: consistent pricing, reliable liquidity, and full responsiveness to client execution needs across the Asia credit complex.” Read more: Is Singapore set to become the next major trading hub? The new hires include Andy Leung who recently joined from HSBC as a market maker. At ANZ he is specifically focused on bolstering its sovereign and quasi-sovereign offering while re-establishing flow trading in Hong Kong and Taiwanese credits. Chirag Srivastava also joined the firm in recent months. He is responsible for broader Asia ex-China/Hong Kong markets, overseeing Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Prior to joining ANZ, Srivastava worked stints at Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank focused on Asian credit bond trading. Aurora Guo and Nikolai Beck are also members of the desk, having been with the firm for several years. ANZ tells The TRADE that both were “instrumental in preserving stability and client coverage throughout the update […] enabling the desk to offer clients consistent, round-the-clock liquidity in Asian investment-grade credits”. Guo specialises in Chinese financials and corporates, while Beck maintains pricing and risk management continuity across European and US trading time zones. Two analysts have also been added to the Asia credit trading desk – Shanghai-based Ting Meng and Singapore-based Viacheslav (Slava) Shilin. Both dedicated desk credit strategists have extensive industry experience, and engage directly with clients providing detailed credit analysis and actionable trade recommendations.  Commenting on the new hires, Danny Choueiri, who leads ANZ’s credit sales efforts in Europe said, “We’re pleased to have the new team on board and are already seeing an uptick in client volumes […] the message is clear, we’re back stronger and ready to trade.” The post ANZ Bank bolsters Asia credit trading team  appeared first on The TRADE.

State Street has completed the first reverse repo trade for MN, an asset manager serving Dutch pension funds, using an enhanced service under the Eurex Select invest repo model.  The transaction was executed through a newly designed structure in which State Street acts on behalf of its client to clear and settle reverse repo trades through Eurex Clearing’s centrally cleared counterpart (CCP) framework.  Read more – MN’s Rick Lodder on in-house algorithmic execution platforms as the way forward“We’re delighted to launch our enhanced Eurex Select Invest model for repo – developed in close collaboration with Eurex – and with MN as our first client.  “The model streamlines buy-side access to the Euro denominated repo market and enables clients to trade independently with any of the current 170 market participants,” said Christian Schütze, head of financing solutions, continental Europe at State Street.  Specifically, the arrangement allows buy-side clients to access the liquidity and risk management benefits of clearing without the operational and onboarding requirements associated with direct membership of a central securities depository.  The post State Street executes first Eurex repo trade for Dutch asset manager  MN appeared first on The TRADE.

As digital assets begin to make their mark across the industry, institutional appetite is growing, however operational challenges appear to be creating obstacles for traditional finance firms looking to enter these markets.  An increasing number of asset managers, banks and trading firms are beginning to actively explore crypto markets, however issues related to connectivity, infrastructure and workflows for traditional finance means that firms cannot ‘plug and play’ their existing technology to access digital assets, as underlined by a recent Acuiti report. Specifically, two thirds of respondents to the survey said that building connectivity to crypto venues was ‘challenging’, while only 34% found no difference to traditional markets. According to the study, the most commonly cited connectivity issue in crypto derivatives trading from respondents was the lack of standardisation across venues, with more than 75% highlighting this as the most significant challenge. Read more – The TRADE predictions series 2026: The institutionalisation of digital assets In addition, structural hurdles such as navigating access to liquidity across fragmented venues and optimising latency and performance were also further issues that firms highlighted when seeking to achieve efficient connectivity in these markets. Speaking to The TRADE, Will Mitting, founder and managing director at Acuiti, said: “We have seen an uptick in interest in the second half of 2025 from firms in traditional finance to enter digital assets markets. This is in part due to regulatory clarity in the US but also as a result of expectations that tokenisation will become a key part of financial workflows over the next five to 10 years. “Digital assets markets today are still very fragmented both in terms of liquidity but also in terms of the lack of standardisation of things like protocols and APIs at venues. Moving from tradfi to crypto is not a plug and play but requires an understanding of the nuances of the market.” The challenge ahead The study’s findings indicate that adapting to digital assets is not a difficult task because these markets are relatively new to the industry, but instead, because they do not behave like any other institutional market. This sentiment was also echoed in the survey when it comes to the challenges of building front office software for digital assets trading, due to a historical lack of established third-party vendors. As revealed in the study, half of the firms surveyed built their front office software in-house, while only 10% opted for a third-party vendor, although all firms that outsourced began crypto trading operations with the last five years. Additionally, utilising a mixture of front office software, sourced from in-house, third-party vendors and broker provided solutions are also a popular choice for some firms looking to integrate into crypto markets, indicating the increasing sophistication of third-party products. As institutional interest in digital assets continues to grow, it appears that the firms that embrace purpose-built infrastructure rather than rely on legacy systems will reap the most rewards. Although various obstacles to the integration of traditional finance with crypto derivatives markets remain, the landscape is continually evolving, and will be one to watch in the months, and years to come. Read more – Citadel Securities and Virtu-backed EDXM International launches digital assets-focused futures exchange Acuiti collated its “Navigating the path to crypto: A guide for tradfi firms” report through conversations with key market players, as well as members of its crypto derivatives expert network that had made the transition from traditional finance to crypto. The post Institutional demand for digital assets growing, yet obstacles to adoption remain appeared first on The TRADE.

George Kierton has joined BlackRock as a vice president, emerging markets trader, based out of London.  Kierton brings a decade of buy-side experience to his new role at the asset manager, with a particular focus on fixed income trading.  He joins BlackRock from Muzinich & Co., where he spent more than a year as a trader.  Prior to this, he also served as Amundi for almost three years as a senior fixed income trader.  He has also held various fixed income trading positions at firms including BMO Global Asset Management and MUFG. He began his industry career as an analyst at Northern Trust Asset Management.  BlackRock declined to comment when contacted by The TRADE.  Read more – BlackRock and AWS partner to bring Aladdin onto its cloud Kierton’s new role follows a spate of recent appointments for BlackRock in recent months. In December, the firm promoted Paul Battams as global head of equity trading after 17 years at the asset management giant, where he most recently served as head of international equity trading.  Similarly, in July 2025, the firm named Daniel Veiner as head of markets, to oversee trading, origination, corporate access and ETF markets at the firm.  He has been with BlackRock for 22 years, most recently as co-head of global trading.  The post BlackRock appoints new emerging markets trader appeared first on The TRADE.

Citadel Brian Pastor has been promoted to head of trading, global equities at Citadel, after almost eight years at the firm.   Pastor initially joined the firm in 2018 as an equity trader, before moving up the ranks to take on his new role.  Based in New York, he has worked across financial markets for more than 25 years, and prior to his time at Citadel, worked as a managing director and partner at Latimer Light Capital, which announced it would be shuttering its operations in December 2018.   Previously in his career, he also served as a trader at PFM LP for almost 10 years.   Pastor has also held various trader positions at firms including Deutsche Bank, Andor Capital Management and UBS Investment Bank. Invesco  Invesco has promoted head trader, Samuel Henderson to the role of head of EMEA equity trading.   Henderson brings more than two decades of industry experience to his new role, and has worked across various sectors during his career, spanning program trading, equities, trading systems and electronic trading.   Henderson initially joined Invesco in 2017 as head of EMEA program trading, before later being named head trader for EMEA equities in 2021.   He has held various senior roles at firms across the world, and prior to joining Invesco, served as a trader and portfolio manager at Pointbreak Asset Management in Sydney for two years.   He has also worked at Dimensional Fund Advisors in Sydney as a senior trader and served as AB Bernstein’s head of electronic execution for more than five years, based out of both Hong Kong and London.   He has previously served as a portfolio trader at ITG in London. ING  ING has named David Leech as the firm’s new global head of FX trading, succeeding Gary Prince.  Prince was made head of financial markets EMEA at ING in October 2025 – ING confirmed that Leech will report hierarchically to Prince and functionally to Niall Carton, global head of financial markets trading.  In his new role, London-based Leech will take on the oversight of all ING’s FX trading activities across the world, bringing more than two decades of markets experience to his new position.  The appointment marks an internal promotion for Leech, who initially joined ING in 2016 as a senior FX forwards trader, before later being promoted to head of FX UK in 2023.   Prior to his time at ING, Leech served as an emerging market bonds and derivatives trader at various firms, including Morgan Stanley, UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, and ABN AMRO, where he began his industry career.  Citi  BNP Paribas named Alexander Ford new managing director, head of UK cash sales trading.  London-based Ford brings more than two decades of sell-side experience to his new role and joins the firm after nearly 5 years at Citi.  During his time at Citi, Ford served as head of equity block and liquidity solutions.  Prior to this, he worked at Morgan Stanley for almost 12 years, initially joining as an equity sales trader, before later becoming head of UK flow derivatives sales for the firm.  Ford began his industry career as an equity sales trader at UBS Investment Bank in 2005.  Earlier this month, BNP Paribas and AXA Investment Managers combined their trading teams under the BNP Paribas Dealing Services umbrella, as part of the firm’s acquisition on AXA IM in July 2025.  The move marks the completion of all main legal mergers, and also marks the formation of BNP Paribas Asset Management as a single entity.  Societe Generale  Societe Generale has named Gary Harper as the firm’s new head of emerging market credit trading.  He joins from Absa Group, where he spent five years as head of eurobond trading. Before that Harper worked in an emerging markets credit – electronic trading role at Liquidnet.  Harper has also previously served at Mizuho in an executive director position, working across Turkey, South Africa, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).  Prior to this, he served at Barclays as emerging markets credit flow trader director.  Other roles include stints at BNP Paribas, CIBC and ING in trading roles. Nomura Fred Bethell has joined CLSA as a program sales trader, based out of London.   Bethell has worked across financial markets spanning various different roles and asset classes for more than 15 years and joins CLSA from buy-side firm Aviva Investors.  During his time at Aviva, he served as an equity trader in the firm’s London office for seven years.  This followed a stint at Odey Asset Management, where Bethell worked in the same role for almost three years.  Elsewhere, Bethell has previously served in assistant portfolio manager roles at Walker Crips and Ashcourt Rowan. The post People Moves Monday: Citadel, Invesco, ING, and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Mark McMillan has joined Nomura as global head of electronic foreign exchange.In his new role, London-based McMillan will oversee all trading, sales, quant and strats within Nomura’s electronic business.  In an internal memo seen by The TRADE, David Leigh, head of global FX and emerging markets and Matthew Hampson, co-head of global markets digital office at Nomura, said highlighted that the hire marks an “exciting time” for the firm’s FX and emerging markets franchise. “We are seeing strong franchise growth […] with our strong existing team and continued focus on the build out of Nomura’s electronic FX platform, we are confident in the continued growth and success of our business,” said Leigh and Hampson. Read more: Nomura completes Macquarie acquisition in $1.8 billion deal McMillan joins the firm following an 11-year tenure at Standard Chartered, where he most recently served as a managing director, global head, markets product management and data analytics.  He initially joined the firm as an executive director in eFX trading in 2014, and during his time at the firm, served in various roles spanning eFX, algorithmic trading quants, product management and data.  Prior to this, he worked at HSBC for more than four years as an eFX quantitative analyst and trader, where he helped to found the firm’s eFX quant team.  Previously in his career, he has also worked at Dresdner Kleinwort.  McMillan’s new role follows significant developments for Nomura in recent months. In December 2025, the firm completed its acquisition of Macquarie’s US and European public asset management business for $1.8 billion.  As part of the move, various employees of Macquarie joined Nomura, including Dylan Kluth, who was named head of equities trading for Asia Pacific at Nomura Asset Management.The post Nomura names new global head of electronic FX appeared first on The TRADE.

How has the role of data in trading and investment decisions evolved over the last few years?  A robust data strategy and foundation are essential in today’s landscape, especially given the rapid growth of AI, which has set even higher standards. We’ve seen a major shift where investors have moved away from storing data in isolated silos to adopting interoperable platforms. Data discoverability, entitlements, quality, and delivery have become critical elements to a firm’s data journey. It empowers teams with reliable analytics, reducing manual work, and enabling smarter, faster investment decisions. Data transformation, normalisation, modelling, and a strong semantic layer enables investors to fully harness their data resources. Ultimately, this unlocks new investment opportunities for clients.   By focusing on governance, adaptability, and scalability, firms can move beyond just experimenting with AI – they can achieve real, enterprise-wide impact, which is really exciting. Those who invest in future-ready data infrastructure are the ones best positioned to capture value and drive innovation for their clients.  As regulation and market structure continually change, what challenges or opportunities does this create for market participants?  Evolving regulation and shifting market structures bring both real challenges and opportunities for market participants, especially in private markets. Private market data is often fragmented, unstructured, and missing standardised identifiers, which makes aggregation and analysis a complex task. At the same time, the diversity of data sources and irregular valuation cycles make transparency and reporting even more challenging, often resulting in inconsistencies and information gaps. The industry has made meaningful progress in improving transparency and standardisation, but there’s still a long way to go. To address these challenges, firms should adopt advanced data strategies that leverage AI, for challenges like transforming unstructured data into usable formats, or utilise machine learning for effective entity resolution. Once data is organised, it can be modelled to support sophisticated analytics and comprehensive reporting, helping firms meet regulatory requirements and make more informed decisions. Modern platforms are essential, offering seamless access and distribution of high-quality data, with governance and compliance built in at every step. By maintaining a strong data discipline, firms can not only overcome operational hurdles and adapt to regulatory changes but build a data foundation for AI solutions.  What role and responsibility do platforms like JP Morgan have in helping traders make faster, more effective decisions?  Investors often face the challenge of extracting meaningful insights from an overwhelming volume of information. While traditional data lakes centralise data, they still require significant manual effort to clean, organise, and prepare it before analysis can begin. This slows down decision-making and limits the value of data, especially in fast-moving markets and periods of heightened volatility. Advanced solutions like data mastering and customisation can support investors on their journey toward enterprise AI. Our platform Fusion supports the seamless integration and normalisation of data from multiple sources for consistency, supported by a semantic layer that brings business context to complex financial information, with built-in connectivity to analytics solutions and cloud platforms.  Data quantity versus quality is an ongoing trade-off and discussion across the industry. How do you see this balance shifting over the course of 2026?  The industry’s data journey began with a focus on collecting as much information as possible, centralising it in large lakes, and relying on technology to manage quality and structure. But we’ve learned that simply gathering more data doesn’t automatically lead to better insights or outcomes. AI models are only as good as the data they consume. Without strong governance and consistency, solutions can fall short, becoming unreliable and hard to repeat. As AI adoption matures, the focus is shifting toward disciplined data management that enables scalable and well-governed solutions. Looking ahead, firms are putting more emphasis on making their data truly ‘AI-ready’, rather than simply adding more inputs. This means investing in robust data management, workflow management, and semantic models to ensure data is accurate, consistent, and meaningful in context.  The most advanced data platforms are leading the way, orchestrating data pipelines, normalising formats, and embedding governance from the very start. Those who prioritise quality and build future-ready infrastructure will be best positioned to turn their data into a genuine strategic asset, driving innovation and smarter decision-making across their organisations. The post Fireside Friday with… JP Morgan’s Jason Mirsky appeared first on The TRADE.

CME Group is set to expand its cryptocurrency derivatives offering amid surging institutional and retail demand for regulated digital asset products. Specifically, CME Group will launch futures contracts linked to Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar. The products are scheduled to launch on 9 February, subject to regulatory approval, and will be available in both standard and micro-sized contracts.  Cardano futures will be offered in contract sizes of 100,000 ADA and 10,000 ADA, Chainlink futures at 5,000 LINK and 250 LINK, and Stellar futures at 250,000 and 12,500 lumens. Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group, said demand for regulated instruments to manage price risk and gain exposure to digital assets had increased over the past year. “Given crypto’s record growth over the last year, clients are looking for trusted, regulated products to manage price risk as well as additional tools to gain exposure to this dynamic market,” Vicioso said.  “With these new micro, and larger-size contracts, market participants will have greater choice, flexibility and capital efficiency.” Read more – Integral integrates CME Group FX markets into workflow solutionThe new contracts complement CME Group’s existing cryptocurrency suite, which includes futures and options linked to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana. The new offering has also garnered support from various market participants, including Wedbush Securities, NinjaTrader and Volatility Shares.  The post CME Group expands digital asset derivatives suite with new futures   appeared first on The TRADE.

LMAX Group and digital asset infrastructure provider Ripple have unveiled a strategic multi-year partnership, as part of an effort to drive forward the convergence of traditional financial and digital capital markets.  David MercerAs part of the collaboration, Ripple is set to provide $150 million in debt financing, to bolster LMAX’s long-term growth across asset classes, and will see stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) become a core collateral asset integrated into LMAX’s institutional trading infrastructure.  Moreover, the new offering is expected to enable LMAX’s clients across the world to make use of RLUSD’s cross-collateralisation and margin efficiency capabilities across their spot crypto, perpetual futures and CFD trading activities. Read more – Digital assets and traditional finance: Can two parallel lanes converge? “Partnering with a leader like Ripple is a milestone for LMAX, reflecting confidence and momentum in our cross-asset growth strategy. With the benefit of greater US and global regulatory clarity, fiat-backed stablecoins will be a key catalyst in driving the convergence of TradFi and digital assets and we firmly believe that RLUSD is positioned at the forefront,” said David Mercer, chief executive of LMAX Group.  Specifically, LMAX’s clients are expected to benefit from enhanced liquidity, margin efficiency, secure custody, institutional on-ramps and 24/7 cross-asset market access through the partnership.  The new offering also includes with the integration of LMAX’s digital assets exchange with multi-asset prime broker Ripple Prime, with the aim of providing a gateway for digital assets trading, without the challenges of market fragmentation and counterparty risk.  Read more – The TRADE predictions series 2026: The institutionalisation of digital assets Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, said: “Institutions are increasingly recognising the transformative potential of blockchain technology to modernise global financial market structure. “This partnership will accelerate the utilisation of RLUSD – already a top 5 USD-backed stablecoin – within one of the largest and most sophisticated trading environments.” The news marks a further development in a string of significant news for Ripple in recent months. In April 2025, the firm became the first crypto business to own a global multi-asset prime broker, following its acquisition of Hidden Road in a deal valued at $1.25 billion.  The acquisition, once completed, will be one of the largest of its kind in the digital asset world.  The post LMAX and Ripple enter multi-year partnership to drive institutional digital asset adoption appeared first on The TRADE.

Invesco has promoted head trader, Samuel Henderson to the role of head of EMEA equity trading.  Henderson brings more than two decades of industry experience to his new role, and has worked across various sectors during his career, spanning program trading, equities, trading systems and electronic trading.  He steps up to the position following the departure of Invesco’s head of trading – EMEA and APAC equities, Paul Squires in November 2025, as revealed by The TRADE at the time.  Squires had been with the firm for six and a half years, and was responsible for 31 traders across the UK, EU, and the US. Henderson initially joined Invesco in 2017 as head of EMEA program trading, before later being named head trader for EMEA equities in 2021.  He has held various senior roles at firms across the world, and prior to joining Invesco, served as a trader and portfolio manager at Pointbreak Asset Management in Sydney for two years.  He has also worked at Dimensional Fund Advisors in Sydney as a senior trader, and served as AB Bernstein’s head of electronic execution for more than five years, based out of both Hong Kong and London.  He has previously served as a portfolio trader at ITG in London. Invesco declined to comment when contacted by The TRADE.  The post Invesco promotes head trader to lead EMEA equity trading appeared first on The TRADE.

Cboe Europe has announced plans to shutter its Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX) exchange service, with final trading scheduled for 20 February 2026.  Specifically, the wind down of the exchange included all CEDX products being set to ‘close only’ and any products with no open interest placed into a trading halt and delisted on 12  January 2026.  Cboe stated that the decision reflects the firm’s bid for strategic alignment, and will redirect resources to “opportunities that deliver the highest potential return across the organisation.”  No changes are expected to be seen in Cboe’s other European businesses, spanning its cash equity exchanges and clearing house, Cboe Clear Europe. Read more – Cboe Europe derivatives exchange secures first trading banks ahead of September launch Cboe Europe launched CEDX in collaboration with Cboe’s pan-European clearing house, EuroCCP – which has since rebranded to Cboe Clear Europe – in September 2021, with the aim of offering futures and options trading on single country and pan-European indices, and bolstering equity derivatives markets across Europe.  Speaking about CEDX’s closure, a spokesperson for Cboe Global Markets, said: “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to close Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX). We will work closely with our customers, regulators, and other key stakeholders to help ensure a smooth and orderly wind down of operations.  “While we have made the decision to close CEDX, Europe remains central to our long-term growth strategy. We plan to continue to build on the strengths of our European cash equities and clearing businesses, alongside our global derivatives and data franchises.” The firm further confirmed that it will continue to promote options education initiatives, as well as respond to demand from European institutional investors for access to US derivatives products and markets.  The closure follows news in September that CEDX had been set to launch Cboe Flexible Exchange (FLEX) options in Europe in Q1 2026, to enhance risk management tools for institutional investors in the region.  The launch had also received the backing of ETF issuers, First Trust Global Portfolios and Vest Financial.  Elsewhere, Cboe has also unveiled significant developments for its US derivatives offerings in recent months, and in September 2025, the exchange announced than it would offer cash-settled futures and options on the soon-to-be launched Cboe MGTEN Index.  The expansion aims to provide investors with opportunities to access ten of the most actively traded US-listed large-cap stocks for AI technology and growth-oriented companies.  The post Cboe shuts doors on its European derivatives exchange service appeared first on The TRADE.

Bernstein is currently in negotiations to cut a significant number of roles from within its French office, the firm has confirmed.Specifically, “Bernstein France has entered into discussions with trade unions regarding the implementation of a voluntary redundancy program,” according to a spokesperson. The move concerns up to 28 roles, with no forced redundancies, The TRADE understands.It comes as Societe Generale continues its cost efficiency strategy since the launch of the equities and research joint venture back in April 2024.The JV between equity research and cash equities specialist AllianceBernstein and derivatives and prime services firm Societe Generale was set to enable Societe Generale to offer clients a suite of global services across the equities value-chain, ranging from equity and macro research to agency execution, equity derivatives, prime brokerage and equity capital markets offerings.From the trading perspective, the JV is made up of one unique trading team covering both high touch and low touch per region – in the US, Europe, and Asia, respectively. In the US, most of this team hails from Alliance Bernstein, as reported by The TRADE at the time the JV was announced, whilst in Asia and in Europe the teams are a 50/50 split of both Societe Generale and Alliance Bernstein’s existing teams.Read more: The new kid on the block – a closer look at ‘Bernstein’Speaking to The TRADE at the time, back in 2024, Stephane Loiseau, previously head of Societe Generale’s cash equities business and deputy chief executive of Bernstein, highlighted that the main focus for the JV going forward was on equity prime brokerage. “It is definitely the biggest wallet in equities. When you look at the global picture, cash equities is a small sliver in comparison and currently the two are connected so now we’ll finally be in a position where we can build that as a product globally,” said Loiseau at the time.He added that the joint venture provided the opportunity to be relevant globally and across the bigger sway of the equity chain. “Societe Generale has obviously very strong expertise in derivatives. So, once you put these two things together (research and cash equities with equity derivatives and prime services) you have the scope and expertise to offer world class content (e.g. research) and a leading global trading platform.”The post Bernstein to cut up to 28 roles in France as part of future growth plans appeared first on The TRADE.

Ediphy has launched a new suite of trading and analytics APIs through its developer portal, as part of an effort to enhance automation for bond and interest rate swaps (IRS) markets.  The new offering will allow developers and systematic trading desks to gain access to Ediphy’s execution, liquidity and analytics tools, tailored to credit, government and SSA bonds and IRS markets. Specifically, the APIs services span execution management, liquidity checking and transaction cost analysis (TCA). Speaking to The TRADE, Chris Murphy, co-founder and chief executive of Ediphy, explains: “The future of fixed income markets requires traders to not be constrained by any single venue or protocol. By providing a unified abstraction layer, we are enabling market participants to transcend legacy infrastructure and automate their workflows on their terms. “These APIs allow firms to focus on their trading strategies instead of navigating the complexity of the underlying market plumbing.” Read more – Ediphy consents to lifting the automatic suspension of the FCA UK bond tape contract In addition, the suite of products has been designed with the goal of bolstering transparency and workflow efficiency in fixed income markets in particular, with the new developer portal expected to serve as a central hub for firms integrating Ediphy’s infrastructure into their workflows.  The development aligns with Ediphy’s mission to automate the wider fixed income sphere and builds on the firm’s recent success in being named the consolidated tape provider (CTP) for bonds in the EU by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in July 2025.  The tender, which will be taken on by Ediphy-led consortium, fairCT, will see the firm operating the CT for a five-year period, under ESMA’s supervision. Ediphy is now expected to apply for authorisation to continue with the tape proceedings. The post Ediphy unveils trading and analytics API suite in a bid to automate fixed income markets appeared first on The TRADE.