LSEG and Citi have entered a multi-year data and analytics strategic partnership, as part of an effort to strengthen the quality and speed of client delivery.  Ron LeffertsSpecifically, the offering will leverage LSEG’s data, analytics and workflow solutions at enterprise scale, to enhance Citi’s data foundations and support the firm’s front-to-back workflows across its business lines, including markets, investment banking, wealth, trading, risk, finance and compliance.  In addition, through data consolidation and standardised governance, the integration aims to enable Citi to produce clearer insights, and more informed client conversations, as well as gain access to LSEG’s end-to-end workflow solutions.  David Livingstone, chief client officer at Citi, said: “High-quality data underpins how we deliver for clients. This partnership with LSEG gives our teams a comprehensive, trusted base of intelligence that spans Citi’s franchise, strengthening how we design products, advise clients, and execute on their behalf. “By integrating LSEG’s data and analytics directly into our workflows, we can deliver sharper insights, faster responses, and a more consistent client experience.” Read more – Fireside Friday with… LSEG’s Emily Prince  LSEG’s data and analytics spans AI-ready content and multi-asset class data, across economic indicators, pricing and market information, company and reference data, benchmarks and indices, fund and Lipper data, deals data, commodities, news, risk-intelligence and regulatory data.  Ron Lefferts, co-head of data and analytics, LSEG, said: “By combining AI-ready content, cloud-native analytics and integrated workflow tools such as LSEG Workspace, we are supporting Citi’s modernisation agenda, helping them innovate at scale while strengthening governance, risk management and compliance.” In recent months, LSEG has made continual enhancements to its data offering through further developments and strategic partnerships. In October, the firm announced an enhancement in its collaboration with Microsoft, to provide agentic AI with data made accessible through an LSEG managed Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.  Similarly, in September, LSEG formed a strategic partnership with Databricks, to deliver its data natively via Databricks’ open-source data sharing approach, Delta Sharing.  The post LSEG and Citi unveil multi-year data and analytics partnership appeared first on The TRADE.

Outsourced trading solutions firm, Tourmaline Partners, has expanded its global team with the addition of two new hires from Jefferies and T. Rowe Price, The TRADE can reveal. Aaron HantmanThe hires span both Europe and Asia and sees Stephen St. Pierre join the firm as a managing director, trading, to support the firm’s growth.  St. Pierre brings more than two decades of buy- and sell-side trading experience to his new role, and joins from Jefferies, where he worked in the firm’s outsourced trading unit.  The hires also include Michael Ward, who joins Tourmaline as a managing director, Asia trading, based in Sydney.  Ward joins the firm from T. Rowe Price, where he worked across Japanese and Australian trading for more than 10 years, an area he is set to continue to focus on in his position at Tourmaline. Previously in his career, Ward has also held various senior positions across sales trading and hedge fund sales at Citi for 17 years, which he joined in 1996.  St. Pierre’s and Ward’s hires also align with the recent addition of Guillame de Chabaneix, who joined Tourmaline in October as a managing director, European trading, from BTIG.  London-based de Chabaneix supports Tourmaline’s clients trading in EMEA markets in his new role, and brings more than 15 years of industry experience to the firm.  Speaking to The TRADE on the appointments, Aaron Hantman, chief executive and founder of Tourmaline, said: “Expanding our global franchise with seasoned, regional talent will help us to meet the growing demand we have seen in all major regions. The recent contraction of players within the outsourced trading community has accelerated that growth.  “There are only a few leading players in the industry.  Clients are recognising that paradigm and onboarding at Tourmaline for enhanced trading access, influence in local markets, high-quality execution, and the very best operational expertise.” The appointments also follow further hires for Tourmaline over the course of 2025, with the firm confirming that more additions to the global team are “on the horizon.”  In April, Jeff Zuckerman rejoined Tourmaline to take up a managing director role, four years after departing the firm to serve as an executive director within Wells Fargo’s outsourced trading group in 2021.  Tourmaline also expanded its global footprint to Dubai in early 2025, with more personnel set to join the regional team in Q1 2026.  The post Tourmaline expands global team with two new trading hires appeared first on The TRADE.

Citi’s head of trading, Paul Clifford, has swapped the sell-side for the buy-side, joining BlackRock as a senior multi-asset trader.  London-based Clifford joins after 11 years at Citi, where he initially started as a multi-asset trader, covering program and single stock equities, and investment grade bonds.  He later took on the role of head of trading in August 2017 and held the role for more than eight years.  Prior to his time at BlackRock, Clifford spent two years at HSBC as head of equities execution trading, EMEA. He has also served as a senior execution trader at the firm.  Read more – BlackRock and AccessFintech partner to increase post-trade connectivity between buy- and sell-side Previously in his career, he also worked at Societe Generale, as a corporate bond trader, and a Japanese warrant trader, based in Tokyo.  BlackRock had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  In July, BlackRock promoted former co-head of global trading, Daniel Veiner, to the role of head of markets.  In his new role, Veiner oversees trading, origination, corporate access and ETF markets for the firm.  The post Citi head of trading joins BlackRock in senior trader role appeared first on The TRADE.

MarketAxess’ new ‘Opening and Closing Auctions’ – a first for the fixed income market – is aimed at improving price discovery andKat Sweeneyproviding access to unique liquidity for trading US credit through a standardised market-wide auction protocol.With the launch having occurred in November, The TRADE decided to take a closer look at the new offering, delving into both the strategy itself and the potential for real market structure change as a result.Liquidity paramountThe protocol combines real-time pricing and auction matching expertise from Pragma, creating a liquid end of day event, focused on hedging efficiency and solving inefficiencies in bond pricing.Speaking to The TRADE, Kat Sweeney, global head of data and ETF solutions for MarketAxess, asserts that the new protocol addresses a “major market gap”, with the long-term vision being for the auction to become dominant in end of day credit trading.“This is a way for asset managers, hedge funds, dealers to have a central point – same time, same place, same bonds – knowing when and how they can find liquidity.”   This, of course, requires industry buy-in – something at the fore of the firm’s planning, with a collaborative design having been developed with the market in order to ensure efficacy and compliance. This has been key to the development of the auction protocol, with input from the buy-side and sell-side in particular over the past three years crucial. Discussions with all corners of the industry having shaped the design based on the principal market needs.  MarketAxess’ advisory group includes names such as: BlackRock, DWS, State Street investment Management, and AllianceBernstein.“As the US Credit market grows, it is vital that participants innovate and deliver new liquidity solutions to investors. The Auction protocol represents a step forward in advancing market structure and puts the public bond market on its front-foot in competing with other capital markets,” George Catrambone, head of fixed Income Americas at DWS Group, tells The TRADE.Read more: MarketAxess to launch first fixed income opening and closing auctionsSpeaking to how the offering is set to slot into the wider markets, Sweeney highlights how equities activity plays into plans for the fixed income sphere.  “We have seen this before in the equity markets – the growth of indexation and ETFs coupled with the growth of systematic market makers saw a move on trading towards the close. Now the closing auction in equities is about 10% of total trading volume [and] the suction plays an important role for both the buy- and sell-side of the market.  “In credit, we are facing the same backdrop just at an earlier stage in the cycle. ETFs and credit futures are becoming a larger part of the market, and we are seeing more systematic liquidity provision from the traditional dealers and market making community.”The protocol integrates diverse liquidity sources, aligning with client trading patterns and improving benchmark tracking, however when it comes to the markets’ biggest concern, Sweeney confirms that completion is front of mind.“We have to make sure the auction is a liquid event […] Benchmarks are changing and more trading is going toward the close. Traders are keeping flow open later because that’s where they benchmark.  “If traders have a high degree of confidence on completion and knowing where end of day values will be set, they are willing to make larger markets across ETFs, cash credit and futures. I call this the bands of arbitrage.”Looking aheadDelving further, Sweeney explains that there is a wealth of benefits which could come from addressing what the credit market lacks – a universal closing price for the cash bonds that would then be used for all macro products, like ETFs and futures.“The data from a closing auction can be used by end of day evaluators, like S&P Global, to set the end of day price or be a significant input into setting the price. That would be so powerful and would improve the overall market liquidity.”  She further adds: “This can be used as a price for internal crossing […] every single asset manager brought it up without me even prompting them.”  Speaking about the launch of this new auction protocol recently, Daniel Veiner, head of markets at BlackRock, affirmed that the offering “represents a meaningful advancement in the modernisation of the bond market.”  He added: “These Auctions will improve price discovery and offer investors increased transparency in-line with the continued growth of electronic trading. As fixed income markets continue to evolve, we’re committed to supporting solutions that better serve investors.”  Read more: BlackRock promotes from within for new head of markets  Addressing the industry on the MarketAxess earnings call in November 2025, Chris Concannon, chief executive, emphasised that the most important aspect of the strategy around the auction is to support the growing indexation of the fixed income market – and is subsequently the key talking point with the firm’s client partners. “In US investment grade volumes, the last hour of the last day of the month, 25% of that day’s volume is done in that last hour. So, we’re seeing aggregation of activity moving to closer to the close.“On a normal trading day, we’re now seeing almost 15% of total volume now within the last hour of the close as well. There’s been a clear trend line where much of the bond market is moving closer and closer to the closing time of the day.”Looking toward the future, Sweeney concludes that as more and more systematic credit comes to market, the players in this sphere are set to appreciate an auction – equal footing for all. “Within the next couple of years, this could be the dominant protocol in the market. We want to make this not just a protocol on our platform, but something that’s market-structure changing, and the wheels are already in motion. It can start slow, but we’re now in the beginning of the snowball phase.”Offered at the beginning and end of the trading day, the protocol specifically relates to US high-grade and high-yield bonds on MarketAxess’s X-Pro trading platform.The post History in the making: A closer look at MarketAxess’ newly launched Opening and Closing Auctions appeared first on The TRADE.

Euronext’s Italian settlement system – Euronext Securities Milan – has asked to handle the settlement of all European government debts currently cleared by LCH SA.  The offering would make use of Eurosystem’s pan-European settlement platform, (TARGET2-Securities (T2S)), providing a unified and capital-efficient European settlement model spanning all European government bond debts currently under LCH SA’s clearing umbrella. Specifically, the newly streamlined model aims to enhance European fixed income market consolidation in a harmonised T2S environment and provide clients with improved flexibility and control over post-trade workflows.  Pierre Davoust, head of Euronext Securities, said: “Firms in the fixed income market are looking for real solutions that support capital efficiency, reduce costs, simplify operations and align with evolving regulatory requirements. With this initiative, Euronext establishes a truly European settlement model for fixed-income markets, building on TARGET2-Securities, Europe’s common settlement platform.” Read more – Euronext’s AVD order type for equities goes live Currently, the T2S platform connects central securities depositories (CSDs) for delivery-versus-payment in central bank money, spanning a single set of functionalities, with the aim of enabling the movement of euro-denominated securities across borders.  The addition of all European government debts currently cleared by LCH SA will also complement Euronext Clearing’s current fixed income settlement offering, spanning Italian, French, Dutch, Belgian, German, Spanish and Austrian government bonds.  Davoust added: “This complements both our ambitious repo expansion initiative – positioning Euronext as a leading CCP for European repo markets – and our Euronext Securities European offering for equities and ETFs. Clients will be able to manage all their asset classes through a single point of entry, gaining the benefits of scale, choice and operational simplicity.” The move aligns with Euronext’s aim to create a pan-European exchange spanning the whole trading lifecycle. In November 2025, the firm announced that it would acquire Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) following a successful voluntary share exchange tender offer.  The acquisition will see ATHEX integrating into Euronext’s trading and post-trade technology as a combined group, with a cross-border clearing framework.   The post Euronext makes bid for all European government debts currently cleared by LCH SA appeared first on The TRADE.

Citadel Securities Rachel Underhill has joined Citadel Securities as a fixed income ETF sales trader.  Underhill is based out of New York and brings extensive industry experience working across ETFs and fixed income to her new role.   She joins the firm from BNP Paribas, where she spent eight months working in a position covering G10 macro rates sales in San Francisco.   Prior to her time at BNP Paribas, she served at BlackRock for more than three years in various different roles, most recently as head of US ETF markets coverage.   Underhill has also held positions as Citi covering fixed income portfolio, credit and high-grade municipals trading.   She began her industry career as an associate in fixed income at Capital Group in Los Angeles, which she joined in 2016.  Liquidnet  Luke McCabe has joined Liquidnet as a senior equity trader, following a four-year stint at Kepler Cheuvreux.   London-based McCabe’s experience spans equities and electronic trading. He most recently served as an electronic and portfolio trading sales trader at Kepler Cheuvreux.   Prior to this, he also spent more than 14 years at Canaccord Genuity, working across the firm’s global capital markets division.   While at the firm, he held a variety of roles, spanning electronic and equity sales trading, product control and trade support.    Speaking to The TRADE, Gareth Exton, head of execution and quantitative services EMEA at Liquidnet, said: “[McCabe’s] appointment underscores our commitment to strengthening our execution capabilities and delivering innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our members.” Trium Capital Benjamin Pouly has joined Trium Capital as a trader, focusing on merger arbitrage and equity events.   London-based Pouly has worked across financial markets for more than 15 years, spanning various hedge fund and execution-based roles.   He joins Trium Capital from Boussard & Gavaudan, which he joined initially in 2007 in the middle-office, later becoming an execution trader before departing in 2010, to then rejoin as a head execution trader, covering cash equity and equity derivatives.   Between his two stints at Boussard & Gavaudan, Pouly spent three years as a head execution trader and partner at Occitan Capital Partners.   He began his industry career as an institutional account manager at BNP Paribas in 2006, based out of Paris.   Deutsche Bank Mike Yau has joined Deutsche Bank as an equity sales trader, based in Hong Kong.   He joins the firm from China Renaissance, where he spent the last six years as the firm’s head of trading.   Prior to this, Yau worked as Nomura’s head of portfolio trading.  He has also worked extensively across the industry in various trader and portfolio trading positions, at firms including CLSA and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.   Banque Internationale à Luxembourg Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) has named Cartigny Thomas as a sales trader, based out of Luxembourg.   Thomas brings extensive sales trading experience to his new role, which will see him covering CIB financial markets. He joins the firm from European asset manager, Azimut Investments, where he spent more than five years.  Thomas confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media.  During his time at Azimut, Thomas served as a trader on the firm’s buy-side trading desk, covering multi-asset execution.   Prior to this, he also worked at CACEIS for over two years, where he worked in a role covering institutional sales spanning forex sales and trading, as well as money market instruments.   He has also held roles at KBL Richelieu in Paris, and began his industry career at Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne (BPALC) in 2016.   The post People Moves Monday: Citadel Securities, Liquidnet, Trium Capital and more… appeared first on The TRADE.

Mohamed Braham has been promoted as head of global markets and head of fixed income and currencies (FIC) for Asia Pacific at Societe Generale. Braham will take on his role from 1 January 2026, and he will oversee the firm’s global markets division, as well as its FIC activities across APAC. In addition, he will also continue his former role as deputy global head of FIC, which he has held since January 2025. Braham will be based out of Hong Kong in his new role, and will report to Jerome Niddam, chief executive for Asia Pacific for Societe Generale, who said: “[Braham’s] market expertise and leadership will be instrumental in driving our strategic ambitions in Asia Pacific.  “His appointment reinforces our commitment to strengthening connectivity between Asia and other regions, while delivering greater relevance and impact for our clients across global markets.” Braham will also functionally report to Francisco Oliveira and Hatem Mustapha, co-heads of global markets.  Read more – HSBC trader joins Societe Generale Braham initially joined the firm in 1993, serving in several trading positions, before later taking on various senior roles in London and New York, such as becoming head of rates trading in 2012, and head of FIC for the Americas from 2017 to 2019. The post Societe Generale promotes internally for head of global markets and head of FIC APAC appeared first on The TRADE.

Standard Chartered deepened its partnership with Coinbase, with the move set to expand institutional digital asset collaboration.Margaret Harwood-JonesThe parties are set to jointly explore the development of trading, prime services, custody, staking and lending solutions for institutional clients. Standard Chartered is set to combine its expertise cross-border trading and custody capabilities as a cross-border bank with Coinbase’s digital asset institutional platform and global reach – developing a ‘comprehensive digital asset solution offering for institutional clients globally’. Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head, financing and securities services, Standard Chartered, said: “Our role as a trusted international bank is to support clients as digital asset markets mature in a safe, responsible and well-governed way. Our growing relationship with Coinbase further strengthens our ability to develop secure and compliant digital asset solutions for institutional investors. “[…] we aim to explore how the two organisations can support secure, transparent and interoperable solutions that meet the highest standards of security and compliance.”Read more: Coinbase wins approval to offer federally regulated crypto futures trading to eligible US customersCurrently, the two parties have an existing partnership in Singapore, with Standard Chartered providing banking connectivity which enables real-time SGD transfers for Coinbase’s customers.  Brett Tejpaul, co-chief executive of Coinbase Institutional, highlighted that the move is set to provide a seamless and secure experience for trading and managing digital assets, adding: ”This partnership represents a significant step forward in delivering institutional-grade digital asset solutions […] Together, we are driving the evolution of the financial ecosystem and enabling institutions to unlock new opportunities in this rapidly growing market.”The post Standard Chartered expands Coinbase partnership to further develop digital asset trading for institutional clients appeared first on The TRADE.

Interactive Brokers is set to offer trading of Brazilian equities through a B3 connection.  The new offering aims to expand investor access to emerging markets in Latin America, alongside the firm’s current global stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds product suite. Specifically, Interactive Brokers’ clients are set to benefit from enhanced market access – able to gain direct access to the assets through the firm’s single unified platform, from anywhere across the world.  “Global investors need seamless access to diverse markets to stay competitive,” said Milan Galik, chief executive of Interactive Brokers.  “By adding Brazil’s B3 Exchange, we’re giving our clients efficient, low-cost access to one of the world’s most dynamic emerging economies through our unified global platform.” Read more – Interactive Brokers expands European trading through Cboe Europe Derivatives The addition of equities trading access through B3 aligns with Interactive Brokers’ aim to enhance efficiency and low-cost access to markets across the world, and currently, the firm offers clients connections with more than 160 markets. Clients are also able to carry out funding and trading in up to 28 currencies.  Earlier this week, the firm announced that it had connected with two United Arab Emirates (UAE) exchanges, to provide Interactive Brokers’ clients with market access to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The news aligns with the firm’s aim to expand its footprint in the Middle East, and follows a collaboration with HSBC in July, to deliver a new trading solution for trading assets in the UAE.  The post Interactive Brokers adds Brazilian equities to trading platform appeared first on The TRADE.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has been cleared by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to move ahead with a new tokenisation service, following the issuance of a no-action letter.  Frank La SallaThe letter allows its subsidiary DTC to tokenise its real-world assets and make those digital representations available on pre-approved blockchains.  The SEC authorisation spans an initial three-year period and covers a defined range of highly liquid instruments, including securities within the Russell 1000 index, ETFs linked to major benchmarks, and US Treasury bills, notes and bonds.  The service is expected to go live in the second half of 2026 and will initially operate in a controlled production environment for DTC Participants and their clients. Digital versions of these assets will carry the same investor protections, rights and entitlements as their traditional forms, with the same operational safeguards applied across DTC’s existing infrastructure. Frank La Salla, president and chief executive of DTCC, said: “I want to thank the SEC for its trust in us. Tokenising the US securities market has the potential to yield transformational benefits such as collateral mobility, new trading modalities, 24/7 access and programmable assets, but this will only be achievable if market infrastructure provides a robust foundation to usher in this new digital era.”  La Salla added: “We welcome this opportunity to further enable and innovate for the industry, our participants and their clients. We look forward to partnering across the industry to tokenise real-world assets safely and securely while advancing the future of finance for generations to come.”  While the relief outlines certain conditions and limitations, it effectively accelerates DTC’s path to launching the service compared with a standard regulatory approval process. Also, the upcoming service will be backed by DTCC’s ComposerX platform suite, which is designed to allow digital and traditional markets to operate alongside one another and potentially tap into shared liquidity pools. Brian Steele, managing director, president of clearing and securities services at DTCC, said: “From the start, DTCC has been pioneering breakthrough technologies that redefine markets and safeguard their integrity. Our tokenisation initiative will build upon that legacy and enable us to work collaboratively with industry participants to usher in the era of digital markets.” Steele added: “In partnership with our clients and the broader market, we will tokenise securities with uncompromising security, sound legal footing and seamless interoperability, all backed by the resilience that has anchored traditional markets for decades.”   Under the terms of the no-action relief, DTC can offer the tokenisation service across approved Layer-1 and Layer-2 networks.  “Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has the power to reshape markets, and DTCC is championing this transformation through innovative actions and bold solutions,” said Nadine Chakar, managing director and head of digital assets at DTCC. “Our suite of DLT offerings will underpin DTCC’s tokenisation service and, together with the industry, will drive development of a new digital asset ecosystem for all.”   DTCC said further details on onboarding, wallet registration and network approval criteria will be released closer to its launch. The post DTCC receives SEC no-action relief to launch tokenisation service appeared first on The TRADE.

Benjamin Pouly has joined Trium Capital as a trader, focusing on merger arbitrage and equity events.  London-based Pouly has worked across financial markets for more than 15 years, spanning various hedge fund and execution-based roles.  He joins Trium Capital from Boussard & Gavaudan, which he joined initially in 2007 in the middle-office, later becoming an execution trader before departing in 2010, to then rejoin as a head execution trader, covering cash equity and equity derivatives.  Between his two stints at Boussard & Gavaudan, Pouly spent three years as a head execution trader and partner at Occitan Capital Partners.  He began his industry career as an institutional account manager at BNP Paribas in 2006, based out of Paris.  Pouly confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media.  Trium Capital had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  Recently, former equity trader at Boussard & Gavaudan, Lucienne Lao also left the firm in October 2025, departing for a role as an execution trader at UBS Asset Management.  The post Trium Capital taps Boussard & Gavaudan for trader appeared first on The TRADE.

Cboe has unveiled plans to extend its Russell 2000 Index (RUT) options to trade at nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week.  Rob HockingThe new offering, expected to go live on 9 February 2026, will expand the cash-settled, European-style options’ current trading hours of 9.30am ET to 4.15pm ET Monday to Friday to also cover an overnight session, allowing for trade activity during Cboe’s Global Trading Hours (GTH), from 8.15pm ET to 9.25am ET the next morning.  Specifically, by expanding RUT options trading hours, Cboe aims to enhance global investor access to US equity market exposure, to increase the ability to quickly react to market events, adjust positioning and manage risk.  “Extending trading hours for Cboe’s Russell 2000 Index product suite will be another significant milestone in our efforts to expand access to US index options for investors worldwide,” said Rob Hocking, global head of derivatives at Cboe.  “With nearly round-the-clock availability, Cboe will help empower market participants to further diversify, manage and hedge their US equity and volatility exposures – covering both small caps and large caps – at their discretion.” Cboe has highlighted growing demand for overnight trading as a key driver for the RUT options expansion.  Read more – Cboe Global Markets to launch cash-settled futures and options on new index The addition of RUT options also expands Cboe’s current product suite which currently offers extended trading hours during its GTH session, including S&P 500 Index (SPX), Mini-SPX (XSP) and Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options.  The firm also plans to add an additional trading session, called Curb Trading Hours, to its overnight offering, set to run from 4.15pm to 5pm ET, Monday to Friday.  Shawn Creighton, director of index derivatives solutions at FTSE Russell, said: “Cboe’s decision to offer nearly 24-hour trading for Russell 2000 options is an exciting development for global investors.”  “The Russell 2000 Index is a recognised benchmark for US small-cap equities, and expanded access will give market participants worldwide greater flexibility to manage risk and capture opportunities as markets move.” The post Cboe to add overnight trading for Russell 2000 Index options appeared first on The TRADE.

Luke McCabe has joined Liquidnet as a senior equity trader, following a four-year stint at Kepler Cheuvreux.  London-based McCabe’s experience spans equities and electronic trading. He most recently served as an electronic and portfolio trading sales trader at Kepler Cheuvreux.  Prior to this, he also spent more than 14 years at Canaccord Genuity, working across the firm’s global capital markets division.  While at the firm, he held a variety of roles, spanning electronic and equity sales trading, product control and trade support.  Speaking to The TRADE, Gareth Exton, head of execution and quantitative services EMEA at Liquidnet, said: “We are pleased to welcome Luke McCabe to our trading team. Luke brings valuable expertise as we evolve and expand our execution services business. His appointment underscores our commitment to strengthening our execution capabilities and delivering innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our members.”Read more – Fireside Friday with… Liquidnet’s Prashanth Manoharan McCabe confirmed his appointment in an announcement on social media.  McCabe’s hire follows recent expansion in the equities space for Liquidnet in recent months. In October, the firm launched its US equity options business, marking an expansion into the asset class.  The launch also aligned with the appointments of Andrew Arnold as a senior execution trader, high touch, as well as Jason Lichten as a senior execution trader, low touch.  The post Kepler Cheuvreux sales trader joins Liquidnet appeared first on The TRADE.

Interactive Brokers has connected with two United Arab Emirates (UAE) exchanges to launch a new equities offering for the region.  Specifically, the move will provide Interactive Brokers’ clients with market access to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).  The expansion aims to allow investors in the UAE to trade across local and international markets through a single platform, as well as enabling global clients to enhance their portfolios with a diverse range of asset classes and geographies.  Milan Galik, chief executive of Interactive Brokers, said: “As market participants seek to uncover new investment opportunities around the world, adding UAE equities offers both local and international investors access to the economic growth afforded by this dynamic region, alongside products from over 160 other global markets on the same platform.” Read more – Interactive Brokers enhances APAC reach with extended Korean derivatives trading hours Interactive Brokers clients will be able to commence trading of UAE equities immediately through their accounts.  Currently, the firm enables account funding and trading across 28 currencies, including AED, and connects with more than 160 global exchanges through its single unified platform.   In recent months, Interactive Brokers has increasingly enhanced its footprint in the Middle East. In July, the firm announced a collaboration with HSBC, to deliver a new trading solution to provide a single platform to trade assets in the UAE.  The post Interactive Brokers connects to UAE exchanges to expand equities offering appeared first on The TRADE.

Rachel Underhill has joined Citadel Securities as a fixed income ETF sales trader. Underhill is based out of New York and brings extensive industry experience working across ETFs and fixed income to her new role.  She joins the firm from BNP Paribas, where she spent eight months working in a position covering G10 macro rates sales in San Francisco.  Prior to her time at BNP Paribas, she served at BlackRock for more than three years in various different roles, most recently as head of US ETF markets coverage.  Underhill has also held positions as Citi covering fixed income portfolio, credit and high-grade municipals trading.  She began her industry career as an associate in fixed income at Capital Group in Los Angeles, which she joined in 2016.  Read more – Citadel Securities and Virtu-backed EDXM International launches digital assets-focused futures exchange Underhill confirmed her appointment in an announcement on social media.  Citadel Securities had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  Underhill’s hire follows the recent appointment of Scott Rubner as Citadel Securities’ head of equity and equity derivatives strategy in July. Miami-based Rubner joined the firm following nearly ten years at Goldman Sachs.  The post Citadel Securities taps BNP Paribas for fixed income ETF sales trader appeared first on The TRADE.

Mike Yau has joined Deutsche Bank as an equity sales trader, based in Hong Kong.  He joins the firm from China Renaissance, where he spent the last six years as the firm’s head of trading.  Prior to this, Yau worked as Nomura’s head of portfolio trading. He has also worked extensively across the industry in various trader and portfolio trading positions, at firms including CLSA and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  Read more – Deutsche Bank completes acquisition of Numis Yau confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media.  Deutsche Bank had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. Yau’s new role follows further trader hires for Deutsche Bank in recent months. In March, the firm appointed Otis Bateman to an Australian rates trading position, joining from UBS, where he had been for the last nine years.  The post China Renaissance head of trading joins Deutsche Bank appeared first on The TRADE.

Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) has named Cartigny Thomas as a sales trader, based out of Luxembourg.  Thomas brings extensive sales trading experience to his new role, which will see him covering CIB financial markets. He joins the firm from European asset manager, Azimut Investments, where he spent more than five years. Thomas confirmed his new role in an announcement on social media. During his time at Azimut, Thomas served as a trader on the firm’s buy-side trading desk, covering multi-asset execution.  Prior to this, he also worked at CACEIS for over two years, where he worked in a role covering institutional sales spanning forex sales and trading, as well as money market instruments.  He has also held roles at KBL Richelieu in Paris, and began his industry career at Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne (BPALC) in 2016.  BIL had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.  The post Azimut multi-asset trader joins Banque Internationale à Luxembourg appeared first on The TRADE.

Jefferies is set to acquire a 50% stake in Hildene Holding Company – parent  of credit-focused asset manager Hildene Capital Management. The firm will exchange its current revenue share and also pay an additional $340 million in cash as part of the transaction. Hildene’s principals will continue to own the rest of the firm. The move comes as part of Jefferies’ effort to enhance its credit investment opportunities and sees the sell-side firm up its previous investment in the asset manager.  The two firms’ partnership in 2022 specifically saw the investment bank owning a revenue share in Hildene’s asset management business.  Following the acquisition of a 50% stake, Jefferies will simultaneously reduce other planned investments in its Leucadia Asset Management division in 2026 by more than $500 million, to offset spending increases.  The move also aligns with recent news that Hildene had signed a deal to acquire fixed indexed annuities provider, SILAC, which will see Hildene take over SILAC’s outstanding common equity for $550 million in cash, upon regulatory approval.  Rich Handler, chief executive and Brian Friedman, president of Jefferies, said: “Origination and management of credit investment opportunities remain a central part of Jefferies’ long-term strategy.” Hildene currently holds more than $18 billion assets under management (AUM), providing services for clients spanning hedge funds, separately managed accounts, drawdowns, securitisation and insurance solutions products.  Brett Jefferson, founder, president and co-chief investment officer, and Dushyant Mehra, co-chief investment officer of Hildene, added: “We believe that expanding our partnership with Jefferies and completing the acquisition of SILAC will best position us to scale our platform, broaden our origination capabilities and support the long-term interests of SILAC’s policyholders while meeting the evolving needs of our clients and capital partners.” The post Jefferies boosts investment in US credit-focused asset manager Hildene, picks up 50% stake appeared first on The TRADE.

More and more hedge funds are choosing to split their execution across multiple algo providers, according to The TRADE’s most recent Algorithmic Trading: Hedge Funds Survey. The 2025 report found that using a diverse variety of brokers for algorithmic trading increasingly appears to be the norm, with almost 70% of firms surveyed using two or more providers.  Specifically, 41% use five or more providers, compared to 31% who leverage a single provider.  The survey also revealed that larger firms tend to utilise multiple providers, with the largest year-on-year increase of providers used stemming from firms in the $10 – $50 billion assets under management (AUM) band, noting an increase of 0.84 algo providers.  Similarly, firms with an AUM between $1 and $10 billion recorded a growth of 0.52 providers, bringing their total up to nearly five providers per firm.  The findings indicate an increased focus on risk management and performance strategy for larger firms when it comes to algorithmic trading, amid market volatility and growing complexity in financial instruments.  Moreover, the survey also forecast a further increase in the average number of providers used in years to come, as buy-side firms begin to adopt more algorithmic trading tools in the fixed income and FX markets to manage their risk more effectively.  ‘Speed’ showing a slow down As larger firms increasingly elect for multiple providers, the key drivers behind algorithmic usage are also changing across the buy-side.  While the need for ‘higher speed and lower latency’ has in the past been a top factor for hedge funds, this category noted the steepest decline in this year’s survey, recording a 1.81% drop from 2024.  Conversely, ‘greater anonymity’ saw the largest jump among usage factors, totalling 9.49% of responses, an increase of 2.47%, indicating a potential growing need for reduced implicit trading costs as the ‘race for microseconds’ in algorithmic trading loses traction across the industry. ‘Ease of use’, ‘reducing market impact’, ‘consistency of execution performance’ and ‘increasing trader productivity’ were also highlighted as top reasons for algorithm usage by the survey’s respondents.  Reflecting on this, it appears that priorities in the algorithmic trading sphere are shifting every year, as the buy-side increasingly adapts its needs as the space continues its rapid evolution.  The full 2025 survey can be accessed here.  The post Beyond the Data: Large hedge funds increasingly choosing to spread execution across multiple algo providers appeared first on The TRADE.

Amundi has entered a strategic partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), as part of an effort to expand investment solutions across regions encompassed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).  The two firms have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will aim to deliver a broad variety of financial services across client segments, formats and asset classes across the GCC, through combining both FAB and Amundi’s expertise in these areas.   Specifically, the GCC consists of six Arab nations which collaborate economically and politically, spanning Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  Valérie Baudson, chief executive of Amundi, said: “As we see accelerating demand for various investment solutions across the Middle East, partnering with FAB, a leading financial institution, supports our ambition to deepen our presence and capture long-term growth in this high-potential market.” Read more – First Abu Dhabi Bank taps Morgan Stanley for new trader The partnership aligns with increasing demand for a wide variety of investment solutions in the region, and also marks a further development for Amundi as the asset manager looks to expand its footprint in markets in the Middle East.  Hana Al Rostamani, group chief executive at FAB, said: “Our strategic partnership with Amundi is a key moment in FAB’s journey to elevate our investment capabilities and bring best-in-class asset management solutions to our clients. “By joining forces with one of the world’s leading asset managers, we are reinforcing FAB’s position as the UAE’s global bank and a partner of choice for clients seeking international expertise and tailored solutions.”  The post Amundi partners with First Abu Dhabi Bank to expand offering in the Middle East across various asset classes appeared first on The TRADE.