Description of Algorithms
Abraxas Dynamically balances orders among the most desirable market venues to efficiently access numerous sources of displayed and dark liquidity with minimal information leakage. Features a comprehensive, multi-dimensional sensitivity profile that simultaneously measures five essential market signals for each order.
ADR Plus Optimally sources liquidity for ADR trades in both the overseas and US markets by dynamically monitoring liquidity and price.
Provides clients with access to deeper liquidity pools and the ability to execute overseas without having to manage the ADR conversion process.
ConvergEx Cross Sends resting orders to ConvergEx Cross. Lets user specify minimum cross quantity. Provides an option for clean-up trade after successful cross as well as open market trading.
Initiation Price Aims to minimize movement away from the initiation/arrival price.
User indicates market-impact tolerance by specifying target participation rate. However, since completion is guaranteed, the algorithm may exceed the implied aggression level.
IQx Seeks to complete the order within up to 15 minutes, but aims to improve upon the performance typically achieved by a simple market order.
Pulse Locates and targets liquidity across all options exchanges and aggressively persists orders to take available liquidity.
Systematically strips away liquidity at multiple price levels without getting caught in linkage.
Hidden Conceals options orders from the marketplace while working them across all or a user-specified set of exchanges. When sufficient liquidity is displayed at the user’s desired price, Hidden will ‘snap up’ the displayed liquidity and remain concealed until the order is filled.
Reserve Breaks large options orders into user-specified displayed and undisplayed portions. The displayed portion can be worked on a single exchange or sliced to work across all exchanges.
The undisplayed portion of the order is concealed from the marketplace and is used to replenish the displayed orders as required.
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execution to ConvergEx’s own proprietary dark pools, VortExSM and Millennium ATSSM; optimisation tools for decision making (IQx);
strategies for options and customised services.
Although the company has specific components focused on US vs. Europe vs. other markets, it also provides worldwide capabilities.
ConvergEx has developed its core algorithms from the ground up focusing
on global applicability, rather than developing an algorithm for a particular region and ‘adapting’ it to other markets. The firm not only cites such nuances
Common Algorithms
Closing Price 3
Peg 3
Percent of Volume 3
Reserve 3
• Dynamic order rebalancing in advanced DMA tools • Provide clients with customised algos on request • Improve performance • Innovative execution strategies Claimed Advantage(s)
• ’I Would’ feature • Special features in algos • Dynamic order rebalancing in advanced DMA tools • Provide clients with customised algos on request • Multi-asset class trading in over 100 markets; agency model Special Facilities
• VortEx & Millennium (dark pools)
• IQx (intelligent execution logic) • Sonic (Equities EMS) • DerivatEx (US options EMS) • Perform-Ex (transaction/performance analysis) • TactEx (advanced DMA order types) • ConvergEx Cross (crossing network) • ConvergEx Suite of Advanced Algorithms Asset Classes
• Fixed Income • Equities • Options • ADRs/GDRs • ETFs
Concepts
‘I Would Price’ All of the above algorithmic strategies offer a unique ‘I Would Price’ option. If the market moves favourably and some stock becomes available at the user specified
‘I Would Price’, the algorithm will take as much liquidity as possible at that price, completing the order if size permits. When the price moves away from the ‘I Would Price’, the algorithm will revert back to the original strategy for the remaining order quantity until the order is complete.
‘Limit Ladder’ Defines multiple price points, within the same algorithm, for an instrument with different aggressiveness and volume at each point.
‘Value’ Increases participation rate when price is favourable and decreases participation when prices are unfavourable.
‘Momentum’ Dynamic price response strategy that gets more aggressive as prices move against you and scales back participation when prices move in your favour
‘Inline’ Keeps a consistent participation rate but scales up its aggressiveness upon favourable price movements.
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as opening and closing functions but others as well – including how coffee breaks affect local trading patterns.
ConvergEx provides a range of typical algorithms – VWAP, TWAP and POV, for example, but also its own algorithms all
with customised features including aggressiveness, time sensitivity, venues of interest or avoidance, and its own ‘I would’ price definition, which can override algorithm operation if the client’s target price is met. Many other parameters of its core algorithms are
Markets
Australia ✔ Italy ✔
Austria ✔ Japan ✔
Belgium ✔ Latvia ✔
Brazil ✔ Malaysia ✔
Canada ✔ Mexico ✔
China ✔ Netherlands ✔
Cyprus ✔ New Zealand ✔
Czech Republic ✔ Norway ✔
Denmark ✔ Poland ✔
Dubai ✔ Portugal ✔
Estonia ✔ Romania ✔
Finland ✔ Singapore ✔
France ✔ South Africa ✔
Germany ✔ South Korea ✔
Greece ✔ Spain ✔
Hong Kong ✔ Sweden ✔
Hungary ✔ Switzerland ✔
India ✔ Thailand ✔
Indonesia ✔ Turkey ✔
Ireland ✔ UK ✔
Israel ✔ US ✔
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Contact Americas
Non-US Portfolio Trading Desk – Bermuda
+1-441-298-9949
Non-US Sales Trading Desk – Bermuda
+1-441-298-9949 Asia
Asia Electronic Trading Desk 24 Hour +1-441-298-9920 Asia Electronic Trading Desk – Operations +1-407-208-4900 Asia Electronic Trading Desk – Sales Desk +1-212-237-0487
Non US Portfolio Trading Desk – Hong Kong +852-3921-8121 Non-US Sales Trading Desk – Hong Kong +852-3921-8121
Europe
Europe Electronic Trading Desk 24 Hour +44-20-7964-7375 Europe Electronic Trading Desk – Operations +1-407-208-2900 Europe Electronic Trading Desk – Sales Desk +44-20-7964-4433 Non-US Portfolio Trading Desk – London +44-207-964-6577 Non-US Sales Trading Desk – London +44-207-964-6577 US
Non-US Portfolio Trading Desk – New York +1-212-237-0450 Non US Sales Trading Desk – New York +1-212-237-0450
US Electronic Trading Desk 24 Hour +1-877-227-6848 US Electronic Trading Desk – Operations +1-407-208-4900 US Electronic Trading Desk – Sales Desk +1-212-468-7646
US Electronic Trading Desk – Trading Hours +1-866-224-4407
US Portfolio Trading Desk +1-212-468-7670
Bridge IOE (Thomson Reuters) ✔
Charles River ✔
ConvergEx DerivatEx ✔ ConvergEx Eze OMS ✔
ConvergEx Sonic ✔ Macgregor XIP (ITG) ✔
Mixit ✔
Neovest (JP Morgan) ✔
Portware ✔
Radical (ITG) ✔
RediPlus (Goldman Sachs) ✔
Riptide ✔
Thomson Reuters ✔
Realtick (Townsend Analytics) ✔ Tradeweb (Thomson Reuters) ✔
Trading Screen ✔
Triton (ITG) ✔
configurable by the user and custom algorithms can be created.
Through its high-touch desk, ConvergEx has functionality to help provide best execution if clients so choose, or they can use its direct market access (DMA) capabilities for directly filling orders. ConvergEx sees the most utilisation (perhaps 80%) from the common benchmark algorithms (initiation price, VWAP, TWAP, market on close) with a lot of DMA routing. About 20% of its users require tailored algorithms or more sophisticated algorithms in general.
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Credit Suisse’s Advanced Execution Services® (AES) group helps more than a thousand institutions and hedge funds reduce market impact, improve performance versus
benchmarks, and add consistency to their trading processes. AES offers an award-winning suite of algorithmic trading strategies, tools, and analytics for global trading.