Brokerage

Designed with the express purpose of creating value-added services all around, APs affiliated colleagues may now offer their clients the ability to engage more directly with their accounts by performing various online functions.

In today's FLASHBACK, Traders Magazine looks back to 2003 and new guidelines that were passed designed to fulfill best ex mandates. So, has anything changed?

This week Traders Magazine takes a look at U.S. equity commissions - and how far they have fallen since their heyday and what is yet to come.

Technological developments in FX trading, in some ways, look like a sequel to what happened first in equities: the rise of ECNs, algorithmic trading, smart order routing and internalized crosses. FX has an element of high-frequency trading, too.

Agency-only broker Investment Technology Group -ITG- announced it is rolling out three algorithms tailored for the Mexican equities markets. The three algos, already in service in other equities markets around the world, are volume weighted average price, time weighted average price and Active.

Drive for five. That's Deutsche Bank's ambition for U.S. equities, to leapfrog into the highest echelon of brokers and be among the top five firms, according to Andre Crawford-Brunt, global head of equity trading at the firm.

A rule proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that could limit broker-dealers' usage of indications of interest drew mixed reviews from those who submitted comment letters to the regulator this month. Brokers and their advocates shot down the proposal, while one major buyside shop praised FINRA.

Knight Capital has consolidated its financial, technological and general operations under a single executive and moved its top technologist into a new role.

High-frequency trading firm Tradebot Systems has named Eric Boles as its new chief executive and president, effective January 1, 2012. Boles joined Kansas City-based Tradebot in 2003 as a sales trader and has served as the firm's head of U.S. equities and its global head of trading.

Direct Edge has built pre-trade risk controls, including automated and manual kill switches, into the software that matches orders on its EDGA and EDGX exchanges.