Merrill Lynch Capital Markets To Install ILX Platform In San Francisco

Merrill Lynch & Co. will equip its Capital Markets operation in San Francisco with a market data platform provided by ILX Systems Inc. The decision to install ILX's PC-based quote system follows the demise of Automatic Data Processing Inc.'s Capital Markets Workstation.

Merrill Lynch executives involved with the project couldn't be reached for comment. But according to sources close to the deal, Merrill Lynch intends to install 20 PCs supporting ILX's market data service.

The PCs -- NCR Corp. 286 and 386 SXs running DOS and ILX's proprietary windowing software -- will be linked by an Ethernet local area network. Merrill Lynch Capital Markets traders currently use a mix of Quotron Systems Inc. and Bloomberg L.P. terminals, according to sources close to the firm.

ILX, a unit of Thomson Financial Networks Inc. (TFN), provides a U.S. equities quotation service aimed at rivaling those of dominant vendors Quotron and ADP. The ILX system runs on any 286 or more powerful PC.

It carries real-time quotes and other market data from all the major U.S. equities and options exchanges, plus a number of third-party services including news from Dow Jones & Co., Knight-Ridder Inc. or Reuters Holdings PLC. Its largest account so far is at Inter-Regional Financial Group Inc. in Minneapolis with 2,000 terminals (Micro Ticker Report, Oct. 16, 1989).

ILX plans to add a number of features to the ILX service in its quarterly upgrade in May. Sister TFN services AutEx and First Call, as well as commodities, fixed-income and foreign exchange prices from Knight-Ridder's MoneyCenter Digital Data Feed, will be among the additions. ILX also plans to add moving averages to the advanced graphics function of the basic ILX package, as well as other enhancements.

According to sources close to the deal, ILX was given the opportunity of equipping Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in San Francisco after the cancellation of ADP's Capital Markets Workstation. Merrill Lynch -- which recently completed its installation ADP FS Partner quote terminals firmwide -- helped design the Capital Markets Workstation.

But the workstation project was canceled this year and the capital markets-specific functions added to ADP's FS-Partner AF (Advanced Function) workstation (IMD, Feb. 4). It isn't known whether ADP bid with FS-Partner AF for the Merrill Lynch deal.

The San Francisco contract gives ILX a foot in the door at Merrill Lynch. ILX may be able to leverage its presence on the West Coast to gain positions at Merrill Lynch's larger Capital Markets operation in New York. Ultimately, ILX executives no doubt hope, its presence may make ILX a candidate as Merrill Lynch's firmwide quote supplier when the company gets around to replacing its ADP FS Partners.

Meanwhile, Boston-based Dewey Square Investors plans to replace Quotron Systems Inc. terminals supporting its equities trading and portfolio management operation with seven NCR Corp. and IBM microprocessors supporting the ILX service.

According to senior equities trader Mark Forziati, Dewey Square was attracted to ILX by its flexibility. He says ILX data will be displayed on three IBM PS/2s already installed at Dewey Square, plus four new NCR PCs.

Separately, ILX is planning to introduce a portable version of its quote terminal that will utilize radio frequency LAN technology. According to Bernard Weinstein, president and chief executive officer of ILX, the company plans to introduce the portable version at or before the Securities Industry Associations information technology show in New York in June.

The portable version, which has yet to be given a name, provides access to the full ILX service, Weinstein says. The system runs on any DOS-based PC with minimum 640k of RAM, including laptop computers.

But the system isn't portable in the same sense as Bloomberg's new Bloomberg Traveler, which allows users to plug in their portable computers into any phone line and receive full Bloomberg service (IMD, April 1). Instead, ILX's portable is functional only within a 450 foot radius of the local ILX controller, typically a 486-based PC. The controller supports NCR Corp.'s WaveLAN FM network that broadcasts ILX data to receivers attached to the user's PC and carries requests back to the server.

Weinstein says the ILX portable is aimed at emergency installations or for use at problematic sites, rather than as a business traveler's quote machine. The system would allow immediate installation of up to 70 ILX terminals at any site with two phone lines and a server to receive the ILX broadcast and inquiry-response feeds. Further, the system would be useful at sites where cabling is difficult -- for example, in offices with asbestos -- or where cabling is prohibited -- such as in protected buildings.

According to Weinstein, ILX hasn't yet determined the pricing for the service.