Panoptican Software provide high performance real-time visual data discovery to speed up business processes. used in many areas with Cap Markets, and in a number of trading platforms to visualise market sector performance, and in FX for liquidity visualisation. (demo site here).

Michael A. Morrison, President and CEO of Datawatch, said:

“This acquisition will immediately benefit our combined customers, partners and prospects by allowing them to accelerate the development and deployment of solutions that use the wide variety of data formats and sources present in every organization.

…..Our collective capabilities to address Big Data opportunities are vastly improved with the high velocity access enabled by Panopticon’s real-time visual data discovery solution and the variety of data sources and formats that can be transformed by the Datawatch Information Optimization platform.”

So, another Big Data play, following last weeks sale of Streambase to TIBCO and Apama to Software AG.

Full story on Panoptican  here

An aggregation provider aims to consolidate the liquidity streams from multiple venues to provide best price and execution to its customers, who then no longer need to deal through multiple screens or connections. Aggregation providers in essence create a private marketplace unique to each customer, with the promise of optimising and personalising execution quality and effectiveness.

EBS believes that aggregation providers bring real value to the market. While there are many customers who choose to build and support their own aggregation solutions, these third party providers present a compelling value proposition to those who choose to outsource this service.

• They integrate any liquidity the customer needs.
• They provide traders with a variety of tools and workflows based on both the institution’s and the trader’s own individual preferences and policies.
• They provide algorithms (and accommodate the customer’s own algorithms) to help the customer achieve best price or best execution.

EBS believes it is essential that aggregation providers adhere to the following best practices:

1. Aggregation providers should operate as agents, not as principals to the trade.
2. All sources of revenue generated by an aggregation provider with respect to a customer’s trading must be fully disclosed to the customer.
3. The prices a customer sees as ‘best prices’ should, without exception, represent the best prices available to the customer.
4. The sources of liquidity and credit provided and any potential conflict of interest should be fully disclosed to the customer.

Banks, such as Barclays now offer FX Aggregation solutions to clients as part of BARX FX, the service is called  BARX FX/Gator.

Full EBS white paper here.

Profit&Loss comments on the white paper and best practice here (registration required)

His comments echo many of the posts here regarding the value of single dealer platforms in a cleared world.

Ralph comments that,.. Going forward, more of the traded instruments will be available on electronic platforms, and a large section will be required for clearing.

By enabling trading across asset classes using web-based interfaces, sell-side firms that use SDPs provide their clients with a more comprehensive view into the market, a better opportunity to maximise profitability and the assurance of best execution. In recent months, we have seen more and more banks building an infrastructure to service a wider set of client needs.

This will create the need for SDPs to invest in an expanded infrastructure for trading additional asset classes, which historically were not part of their wider scope. At the same time, the clearing requirements will make some aspects of the post-trade an integral part of an SDP service. In addition, aspects such as collateral management will become an important factor to consider in the overall costs of the trading, decision-making process.

Back in May I wrote that…

We have long-held the position that under Dodd Frank, the SEF execution mandate (whilst not welcomed by all), will nonetheless create opportunities for Single Dealer Platforms to provide enhanced value to clients through SEF Aggregation, and smart order routing capabilities, as certain products move from a bi-lateral to a cleared model.

And indeed, our recent white paper on Single-Dealer Platforms in a Cleared World discusses these very points..

Far from signaling the end of single-dealer platforms, the impending raft of new regulation in the US and Europe will create a new business environment in which the direct online channel is more important than ever for both banks and their clients.

Indeed, we have mentioned MarketPrism’s views on SDPs before

This news comes less than 48 hour after TIBCO announced that it has bought CEP provider Streambase.

Software AG buys Leading Complex-Event-Processing Platform Apama from Progress Software

• The acquisition of Apama is an important step in implementing Software AG’s strategy of enabling the digital enterprise
• Apama will enable enterprises to maximize the value of their big data through proactively responding to business opportunities identified from the continuous analysis and correlation of  business activities across multiple data streams
• It will also enable customers to fully integrate the industrial internet (Industry 4.0), analyzing the massive amounts of real-time operational data from intelligent machines to make precise, real-time decisions
• Software AG  will leverage and expand Apama’s leadership in customizable CEP-powered solutions in capital markets (algorithmic trading, risk and market surveillance), telecommunications and supply chain & logistics
• With this acquisition Software AG  confirms its focus on dynamic growth for its BPE business division

Full announcement here

Autobahn Mobile allows institutional and corporate clients to access Deutsche Bank’s electronic content and features from across the Autobahn platform, including the Autobahn App Market and toolbar. Autobahn provides access to Deutsche Bank’s wealth of sales, trading and research know-how as well as transaction banking services.

Zar Amrolia, Co Head of Fixed Income and Currencies at Deutsche Bank, said:

“Investors are looking for immediate access to trading data and insightful research whilst on the move. This latest innovation provides clients with a constant flow of analytics and a virtual seat on Deutsche Bank’s trading floor whatever their location.”

Autobahn Mobile available from Apple Store provides clients with access to numerous pre-trade services, including:

• Research – Deutsche Bank’s award-winning research across fixed income and equities
• Indicative FX pricing – streaming indicative FX market trading data directly from the Autobahn FX platform
• Sales and trader commentary – sales notes direct from Deutsche Bank’s global sales and trading commentators
• Daily Digest – a daily update on recently published proprietary content
• Calendar – a consolidated calendar of the most important market moving events, from company results to macro-economic announcements

Employees have been front-running client orders and rigging WM/Reuters rates by pushing through trades before and during the 60-second windows when the benchmarks are set, said the current and former traders, who requested anonymity because the practice is controversial.

Dealers colluded with counterparts to boost chances of moving the rates, said two of the people, who worked in the industry for a total of more than 20 years.

Reuters (including spot matching and dealing platforms) showed the largest gain up 8% to $140bln/day, and EBS a modest 2% drop to $126bln/day, whilst FXall (also owned by Reuters) unchanged at $108bln/day.

he longer term trend of the three platforms can be seen here in the following chart.

Matt Quinn, CTO of TIBCO Software says:

“This combination extends our event-processing abilities and provides a terrific opportunity to address a growing number of use cases for data in motion – in financial services and beyond.”

Randy Hebert & Scott McLeod

Participants included global technology vendors, banks and exchanges.

We would like to thank everyone who stopped by the booth and participated in our Caplin Trader demonstrations.

All the event presentations were very topical and well attended but there were a few that stood out:

1. The keynote speech by David Eldon, “The Growing Pile of BS in Asia” – where the title raised a few eyebrows…..until David explained that the BS he referred to meant Banana Skins. And then assisted the metaphor by distributing bananas to the audience!

2. The after lunch keynote speech by Mike Walsh – “World Next – Your Roadmap to the Global Future” was very cleverly delivered and thought-provoking.

Hope to see you at the next conference – APTAS in Singapore on June 27.

The article cites FX Week research showing that 60% of client electronic flow (both GUI and API) is now executed via SDPs.

It argues that, compared to a multi-dealer platorm, an SDP ‘is better suited to client service, which is where the battles of the future will be fought, because execution is rapidly becoming a commodity.’

It also points out that, as new regulation bites, the SDP will be 

a key tool in aggregating liquidity fragmented by today’s market dynamics in addressing the future demands of cross-asset trading, delivering product innovation and enabling banks to maintain their position in the value chain in the new regulatory environment.

…something that has often been pointed out here.

Well worth a read.