Tag Archives: algorithmic trading

From The Halls of Montezuma-to the Floors of the NYSE

US Marine veteran of Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm and veteran NYSE floor trader enlists with designated market-maker GTS with rank of Global Market Commentator

From the USMC to the NYSE, Mark Otto re-defines the phrase ‘veteran’ when considering his pedigree as a highly-decorated former US Marine and the 25 years of financial industry service he’s racked up since hanging up his gun belt. Former Marine Corporal Otto saw combat throughout his 4 years as an enlisted solider (first 1989 Panama Invasion “Operation Just Cause”and thereafter, Operation Desert Storm and then parachuted into the line of fire on the global financial industry’s most iconic battle field: the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. After three tours of duty serving under the commands of NYSE floor specialists Susquehanna Group, Knight Capital and J. Streicher, Otto will now be serving under a new command, he’s just signed on with the veteran-friendly NYSE Designated Market-Maker, GTS where Otto will have the rank Global Market Commentator.  In November, GTS announced they had secured a minority stake in veteran-owned investment bank and institutional brokerage, Mischler Financial Group

Excerpt from the Jan 17 ,2019 press release is below:

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Mark Otto-from the USMC to NYSE

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GTS, a leading electronic market maker across global financial instruments, today announced the addition of U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and experienced equities trader Mark Otto as the firm’s first Global Market Commentator.

As Global Market Commentator for GTS, Otto will combine his specialty of trading American depositary receipts (“ADR”), algorithmic trading, market making and volatility trading with his experience trading in times of historic geopolitical events and market turmoil such as the 2008 Financial Crisis, the Flash Crash, the Greek Debt Crisis, Eurozone Debt Crisis and Brexit to provide market commentary on current trends and their impact on the securities markets.

“I am thrilled to continue my career on the NYSE with GTS,” Mark Otto said, “So much of the pricing of stocks results from international developments and interconnected global economies. It’s an honor for me to share my commentary and views as part of the GTS platform. The firm is a pioneer in bringing innovation to the marketplace and it is an incredible opportunity for me to be teaming up with such an important player in the global capital markets ecosystem.”

mark-otto-nyse
US Marine Corps Veteran and NYSE floor veteran Mark Otto

Between 1988 and 1992, Otto served under the 2nd Surveillance Renaissance and Intelligence Group based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During his military service, Otto saw combat during the Panama Invasion and Operation Desert Storm, as well as leading surveillance teams observing and securing U.S. boarders in support of Federal Law Enforcement agencies. Otto received over a dozen military decorations and achievements, including the Combat Action Ribbon with Gold Star, Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation and Airborne Jump Wings.

GTS is the largest Designated Market Maker (“DMM”) at the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and has an extensive track record of responsibly using best-of-class technology to bring better price discovery, trade execution and transparency to the markets. At the NYSE, GTS is responsible for the trading in more than 900 public companies that have a total market capitalization of approximately $13 trillion dollars. Listed securities include blue chip companies ranging from ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Ford (NYSE: F) to international companies such as Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) to leading global technology companies like Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and AT&T (NYSE: T).

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To read the full press release, click here

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Best Execution Algos for Options Trading: Dash Dares To Be Different

MarketsMuse.com Strike Price section profiles trading systems vendor Dash Financial algorithm-based approach to securing options market “best execution” in the ever-increasing world of options mart fragmentation and the wacky rebate schemes that have proliferated across the electronic options exchange landscape. Below is courtesy of extracted elements from MarketsMedia.com April 20 story “Parsing ‘Best Ex’ for Options Trades”

Achieving best execution in options trading can be far more complex than in equities because of exchanges’ multi-tiered pricing models, which results in hidden transaction fees that may negate the economics of a trade.

That’s according to David Karat, head of sales and marketing at algorithmic trading-technology company Dash Financial.

The equities world is complicated only by fragmentation, because the pricing schedule is based on whether one trades either as principal or agent, Karat explained. “You can go to an exchange and know what price tier your broker is at,” he said. “You know what the maker-taker fees or the rebates are.”

In options, pricing is dependent on a wider range of factors. Orders must be tagged whether they’re a customer, professional customer, broker/dealer or market maker. “All those capacities have different nuances, even the schedules for pricing,” Karat said. “It’s even got down to the point where you’ll have some basket of symbols that, based on certain criteria, if you traded it in a certain time, it will have a different rate structure.”

Dash Financial launched in 2011 to provide technology that would enable traders to gain a greater level of transparency into their orders. “The idea behind Dash was to build a firm that was completely transparent to the client using ‘best-of-breed’ technology and show the client everything that we did all the time,” Karat said. “We have a dashboard that shows every aspect of the routing as it’s happening. As the order trades, they’re seeing where we’re routing it, why we’re routing it that way and everything else.”

Dash Financial has launched Blitz, a trading algorithm focused on aggressive liquidity capture. One of the biggest issues facing the marketplace today is institutional traders’ inability to clear the screens as displayed on order arrival.

To continue reading the entire story from MarketsMedia.com, please click here

Talking Trading Technology: This BrokerDealer Has Buyside Clients’ Back

marketsmedia logoBelow extract courtesy of 08 Dec edition of MarketsMedia.com; reporting by Steve Marlin

Agency Broker WallachBeth Raises Tech Bar

WallachBeth Capital, a provider of institutional execution for buy-side investment managers, recently appointed quantitative trading veteran Matthew Rowley to the newly created role of chief technology officer, signaling the firm’s commitment to delivering customized services that address specific and often complex order-execution and related business-process needs.

The company’s founders, Michael Wallach and David Beth, “have a vision of the industry becoming even more technologically driven,” Rowley told Markets Media.

Matt Rowley, WallachBeth
Matt Rowley, WallachBeth

Rowley joined WallachBeth from Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux, where he was credited with helping the firm attain a leadership position in the global electronic brokerage space. more

Hedge Fund Manager Blames HFT for Firm Closing

WSJ logo

A hedge-fund manager says an unusual culprit contributed to his firm’s demise: high-frequency traders.

Rinehart Capital Partners LLC, which had been backed by hedge-fund veteran Lee Ainslie and specialized in emerging-markets stock-picking, is closing, according to a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

In the letter, Rinehart founder Andrew Cunagin aligned himself with those who have been critical of the rise of fast-moving traders.

“This is a circus market rigged by HFT and other algorithmic traders who prey on the rational behavior of warm-blooded investors,” Mr. Cunagin wrote, referring to the high-speed traders who have attracted wide attention this year for the alleged advantages they hold over more traditional investors.

For the full article from the WSJ, please click here.

Broker-Neutral Trading Technology Firm Offers New Suite of Sweet DMA Tools

Below extract courtesy of Wall Street Letter, as reported by WSL staff columnist Sean Creamer

wall-street-letter-logoOMEX Systems, a provider of web-based, broker-neutral and FIX-compliant front, middle, and back office platforms for broker-dealers and buyside firms, will craft a direct market access offering to aid broker-dealers in choosing algo providers, according to John Houlahan, chief operations officer.

New York City-based OMEX , which introduced its OEMS (Order and Execution Management System) in 2009, is creating newly-enhanced functions for traders interested in setting up direct market access to allow brokerages to place and modify orders on a faster basis, noted Houlahan.

John Houlahan, OMEX Systems

“We are also building out functionality to facilitate direct market access clients via internal algorithmic parameter metrics,” said Houlahan. “We are building a DMA tool to allow broker-dealers to pick and choose various algo providers to place, modify, and monitor trades for intraday modification for cash desk, options, fixed income and futures.”

OMEX is also preparing to make its trading and execution functions available across the pond, so that global broker-dealers can have access to the offering, Houlahan said. The expansion comes on the heels of the firm being certified for use in the Mexican exchange network, he added.   Continue reading