Bank of New York has formed a new 15-person Financial Engineering & Advanced Trading Solutions (Feats) unit to develop cutting-edge trading tools and technology for use by institutional clients of BNY Brokerage and Pershing.
Bank of New York says the new unit will develop next-generation tools for use with the bank's DEx (Direct Execution Services) and Sonic platforms.
Joseph Velli, senior executive vice president of The Bank of New York and head of BNY Securities Group, says the formation of the new unit demonstrates the bank's commitment to "remaining ahead of the curve technologically as our clients prepare for a post-Reg NMS world".
Feats is headed by Gary Ardell and comprises approximately 15 quantitative analysts, programmers and IT specialists. It will be charged with delivering customised algorithms and program trading capabilities, pre- and post-trade analytics, and the expansion of other quantitative capabilities in an effort to keep pace with the challenges arising from market structure changes and new regulations in the US and Europe.
Ardell says the team will aim to develop tools that clients can use to "pull fragmented liquidity back together for them. Whether clients use our trading tools directly or go through our trading desks, our expertise, market presence and connectivity can help them achieve best execution."
In line with its investment banking peers, Bank of New York has been actively re-constructing its electronic trading capabilities over the past two years. In 2004, as part of this programme, the bank acquired direct market access firm Sonic Financial and also acquired a 51% stake in transaction processing software house Netik.