Fidessa group plc (LSE: FDSA), provider of high-performance trading, investment management and information solutions for the world’s financial community, has today announced the publication of a white paper, Survival of the Fittest, Part 1 - Evolution of the new smart broker. This paper explores the new business environment in which sell-side firms find themselves today and looks at how they are developing innovative ways to take advantage of this.
The financial markets have been completely reshaped by a number of forces; increasingly complex patterns of liquidity, the growing weight of regulation, flat or decreasing volumes and downward pressure on commissions, all of which have combined to create a perfect storm. While there is no doubt about the challenges that this presents for all participants, it does at the same time create real opportunities for those that can find ways to successfully navigate their way through it more effectively than others.
James Blackburn, author of the white paper and Product Marketing Director at Fidessa, commented: "It's evident there are two broad approaches that sell-side firms can take in the face of this new reality. One is to become a 'flow monster', collating large quantities of orders, connecting to as many sources of liquidity as possible and using technology to achieve economies of scale. The other, which we explore in this white paper, is to evolve their thinking and find new and innovative ways to add real value to the client experience."
"Having engaged closely with our hosted customers, this sentiment echoes across that user base," Blackburn continues. "For the mid-tier and smaller brokers in particular, who do not have the advantages of scale, success means equipping themselves with the right tools to understand their own trading performance, act on that intelligence and demonstrate their value (and, increasingly importantly, their relevance) to clients. This paper explores how firms can do exactly this for their own and their clients' benefit."