Waters Rankings 2019: Best Agency Broker: ITG

This year’s winner for best agency broker is ITG, beating out Weeden & Co., which had won the previous two years.

ITG has seen its business grow in the past year, particularly its international units in Europe and Asia, as interest in algorithmic trading and trading commissions through its Posit Alert tool increased, the company said in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Posit Alert is a block-indications tool that informs buy-side traders of the availability of blocks of liquidity.

In the past year, ITG has also invested heavily in its technology portfolio that supports its liquidity, execution, analytics and workflow technology solutions. The company has invested more than $40 million in technology since the inception of its investment plan in July 2016.

But of course, the biggest news around ITG is its acquisition by Virtu Financial in November 2018 for $1 billion. The deal, which closed in March this year following regulatory approvals, allowed ITG to integrate Virtu’s high-frequency trading technology and risk management operations into its offering. As part of the transaction, ITG changed its name to Virtu ITG.

The acquisition brings ITG’s agency services suite of solutions, from transparent trading and execution management workflow services to liquidity solutions, to Virtu’s global network and adds a layer of relationship trading to the company.

Virtu said in a statement in May that the company is busy integrating ITG’s systems into its own network.