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Thomson Reuters' forex game changer pays off with three awards

Monday 25 November 2013

Thomson Reuters' acquisition of FXall last year was a game changer not just for the group's foreign exchange business but also for the broader market structure, FX Week newsletter said on Monday. A year on, integration is still a work in progress but Thomson Reuters has proven its long-term commitment with further acquisitions and investments.

In an environment where many trading platforms have reported falling volume, FXall has continued to grow, FX Week said. Average daily volume in October was $106 billion, up from $94 billion in October 2012 and far surpassing the spot activity both of rival EBS and the other foreign exchange platforms owned by Thomson Reuters. FXall was again voted best professional e-trading venue in this year’s survey, while Thomson Reuters was voted best vendor for dealing technology and best broker for emerging markets.

“We understand the idiosyncrasies of local emerging markets,” said Phil Weisberg, pictured, global head of FX at Thomson Reuters in New York. “A lot of them aren’t homogenous markets that follow G-10 markets, so if you want to do business there, you have to go the extra mile, apply for a local licence and cater to the needs of participants in those markets. You also have to implement the controls that the regulators want to govern the transactions that are taking place on their shores. And you have to recognise there is an onshore and offshore market in those places.”

He added: “Helping people deal with regulation is still high on the agenda. There isn’t even a clearing mandate for any FX product, but that will kick in next year.”

FX Week said Thomson Reuters has invested particularly heavily in FX options this year. During the third quarter, it acquired Tradeweb’s FX options platform, followed by SigmaGenix, a start-up options technology company. SigmaGenix’s London-based chief executive, Jeremy Gelber, is now global head of FX options for Thomson Reuters. Neill Penney, who had worked previously under Weisberg at FXall, re-joined from Morgan Stanley this year as head of FX and money-markets workflow management.

“We wanted to build upon the talent of the team here by looking at people who had some recent experience working in the industry, or at our customers, rather than having a vendor background, which would help us bring a fresh perspective to things,” Weisberg said. ■

SOURCE
FX Week