Trading Technologies Launches FX Business

Trading Technologies, a technology provider closely linked with the futures industry, has announced a push into foreign exchange with the launch of TT FX, a dedicated business unit to the asset class.

Tomo Tokuyama has been appointed to run the business, he was last at Los Angeles-based First Quadrant, a quantitative fund that at its peak managed over $25 billion in assets. As head of trading, he oversaw a shift in the firm’s FX trading from 98% voice execution to 95% electronic. He was responsible for managing the trading team and overseeing all trading activity at the firm including FX, equities, commodities, futures, listed options and total return swaps. He, along with the head of portfolio construction, managed day-to-day implementation of the firm’s portfolio strategies and analysed ways to improve trading efficiencies, which included vetting all of the latest fintech offerings.

Prior to joining First Quadrant, Tokuyama worked at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and Hong Kong, where he was a member of the macro asset sales team specialising in e-FX, responsible for distributing the Goldman Sachs electronic FX offering across Asia.

The launch of TT FX follows Trading Technologies’ push into fixed income, announced earlier this year, with the acquisition of AxeTrading. Tokuyama will initially focus on the hiring of other FX industry product and technology experts, the firm says, as well as connectivity to major ECNs and liquidity providers, and the delivery of FX trading capabilities through TT’s execution management system (EMS).

The first phase of implementation for TT FX, slated for late 2023, will enable TT buy-side clients to trade spot FX through a choice of curated ECNs, the firm explains. In early 2024, it says it will extend the offering to include liquidity from major banks and expand the product set to include forwards, non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and swaps.

“We have more than 6,000 buy-side users alone on the TT platform – including hedge funds, CTAs, proprietary traders and commodity trading firms – who already trade a huge amount of FX on other systems and platforms,” says TT CEO Keith Todd. “Following many months of outreach and research with our clients, we’ve heard significant positive feedback and strong demand to consolidate this activity on TT’s EMS.”

Tokuyama adds, “I have long believed that technology will continue to advance and shape the future of FX trading through greater focus on automation and data. FX is in high demand by TT clients, and I’m excited about the opportunity to further shape the FX strategy and deliver a product that TT clients will be proud to use.”