Thirty-one organizations have stated their intent to submit a bid for creating, developing and managing a data service that consolidates quote, order and trade details on all stock and option transactions in the United States.
Former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary L. Schapiro first proposed the creation of a consolidated audit trail in 2010, shortly after the May 6 flash crash that year which regulators could not easily reconstruct.. Schapiro at the time estimated it would cost $4 billion upfront to build and $2 billion a year to operate the system.
The first glimpse at what the competitors think it will actually cost likely will come when they submit bids, which are due April 25.
A conference is being held tomorrow (Friday, March 8) at 1 p.m. in New York, for bidders to discuss the request for proposals on this SEC-mandated National Market System plan. Hosting the conference are the national exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. They collectively are the self-regulatory organizations that the SEC has charged with selecting the best proposal for creating the trail.
Some exchange operators and FINRA have said they intend to bid, as well.
Who is who, among the firms that have stated they intend to bid, follows. Click on the names, for further company information.
Araxid provides comprehensive “trust measurement services” so large enterprises can move more of their business to the Web and telephone. Operates a Trust and Reputation Evaluation Exchange, online.
AxiomSL (Axiom Software Laboratories, Inc.)
A developer of software for risk management, data management and regulatory reporting.
Eight-year-old operator of two all-electronic national exchanges, BATS Z and Y. Based in Lenexa, Kansas, considers technology to be its core competitive strength.
A multinational telecommunications services company based in London, formerly known as British Telecom. Its BT Radianz “cloud” of services reaches 15,000 financial firms, worldwide.
Capgemini Financial Services USA Inc
A unit of the Paris-based business and technology consulting firm which operates in 40 countries and employs 112,000.
A consulting firm that manages, designs and builds information systems. Founded by alumni of Andersen Consulting.
Cinnober Financial Technology AB
Swedish supplier of high-speed trading technology. Customers include Deutsche Boerse, BM&FBOVESPA, Borsa Italiana, NYSE Liffe, Stock Exchange of Thailand.
A software services firm serving Central and Eastern Europe, primarily. Customers include Renaissance Capital, Deutsche Bank, Wolters Kluwer, Barclays Capital, UBS.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA)
Regulates securities brokers, under auspices of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Operates an audit trail system that takes in quote and order information from Nasdaq OMX exchanges, NYSE exchanges, BATS Global Markets, as well as a Trade Reporting Facility that takes in details of trades that occur off exchanges. Its chief executive, Richard Ketchum, indicated before the May 2010 flash crash that FINRA would be willing to take on the task of creating and managing a repository of all trading data, all the time.
Supplier of software that integrates reference, time series, tick data. Also produces high-speed systems for trading in foreign exchange, stocks, bonds and commodities.
Creator of large-scale data processing systems for indexing and searching the World Wide Web. Operates more than 1 million low-cost computer servers worldwide, that it has designed itself. Takes in 24 quadrillion characters of user-generated data daily, to its storage and delivery systems.
Consultant with specialties in auditing, management consulting, corporate finance, risk management and information technology.
Supplier of systems for integrating data between disparate businesses. Operates a service bureau for SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunicatins. That features a single, secure gateway to exchange payment instructions, account statements, foreign exchange transactions and securities holdings reports with their banks.
Global supplier of information technology. “Multi-service” systems cover operations, technology and infrastructure.
IBM – International Business Machines Corporation
World’s largest supplier of information system consulting and services. Hired by Nasdaq OMX in 2012 to investigate all its technology systems, after its flawed initial offering of Facebook stock. Also hired by Knight Capital, after it lost more than $450 million in less than 45 minutes at the opening of trading August 1 due to a “large software bug.”
Consulting firm based in India, with $2 billion in annual revenue. Tries to deliver “measurable business value” in capital markets and other financial services projects.
Specializes in SEC and FINRA regulatory compliance, advisory and project management services for broker-dealer firms, corporations and nations. Based in New York.
An information, communications and technology company providing business consulting services. Part of $15.9 billion-a-year Mahindra Group, a global industrial federation of companies and one of 10 biggest businesses based in India.
Owned by London Stock Exchange Group. MillenniumIT systems used by exchange businesses that include the European dark pool Turquoise, interdealer broker ICAP, the London Metal Exchange, the Oslo Bors, the LSE itself and Borsa Italiana.
Supplies its INET technology, the base of which it acquired from Instinet in 2005, to exchanges around the world. Supports the operations of more than 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories. Nasdaq OMX took in $184 million from market technology in 2012.
The commercial arm of NYSE Euronext. Built two $250 million a copy data centers in Mahwah, N.J., and Basildon, England, in 2010. Created not just to house operations of New York Stock Exchange and other internal operations, but technology suppliers, other exchanges, trading systems and data systems. Operates secure financial transaction network, globally. NYSE Euronext derived $341 million of revenue from technology services in 2012, according to its 10-K report to the SEC.
Supplier of a storage system based on the Hadoop open systems technology for storing “big data.’’ pioneered by Google. Patented technology uses data compression and de-duplication techniques to reduce storage “” by 95 percent.
Business and technology consulting firm. Works across “trading ecosystem.” Specialty in regulatory reporting.
Supplier of enterprise management software. Tries to streamline and integrate business processes. Specializes in big data projects.
StrataQu LLC
No company information available. Possible startup.
Long-time supplier of trading, risk management and other technologies to capital markets companies. Often uses its technology to operate its own capital markets firms, including a brokerage that connects to 1,800 buyside firms and 530 brokers.
Tata America International Corp.
Business and technology consulting firm that is part of Tata Group, based in Zug, Switzerland. Integrates trading systems across equities, derivatives, commodities, currencies and bonds.
Global supplier of financial information for securities markets. Operator and provider of online information and trading services. Its Eikon system carries real-time data, news, charts, commentary, analytics and trade execution tools to desktop computers of market participants.
TradeDynamiX LLC
Domain name registered on November 25, 2010. Expires November 25, 2020. No further information available.
Operates an equity markets hedge and a high-frequency proprietary trading business. Licenses its high-speed trading platform, used by high-frequency trading firms, through affiliate Thesys Technologies. In 2012, developed the Midas real-time database for the SEC. Midas will allow all four divisions of the SEC to view all orders, order cancellations and trade executions on U.S. exchanges. The system was designed to allow the SEC to collect, store, aggregate, monitor, query, manipulate, and analyze trades, quotes and orders on stocks and options, as disseminated by national securities exchanges, over-the-counter markets and alternative trading systems, according to the request for proposals issued at the end of 2011 by the SEC’s divisions of Trading and Markets and Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation.
Global information technology, consulting and outsourcing company with 140,000 employees serving over 900 clients in 57 countries. The company posted revenues of $7.37 billion for the financial year ended Mar 31, 2012. Established in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited in Amalner, Maharashtra. Entered IT market in 1981.
