Thomson Reuters Takes Aim at the Buy Side
Thomson Reuters' acquisition of Redi Holdings shows that the firm is serious about bringing a greater presence to the buy side.

Last week's announcement that Thomson Reuters was to acquire Redi Holdings, primarily known for its RediPlus execution management system (EMS), was as clear an indication as any that the New York tech giant had the buy side firmly in its sights.
The Redi portfolio will be completely integrated into Thomson Reuters' suite of Eikon products and the Elektron platform, further bolstering its buy-side offering following previous upgrades made earlier in the year.
In March, the firm completed its multi-year project to consolidate a range of data, analytics and applications catering to buy-side firms onto its Eikon data terminal, to provide users with a single access point for data.
Three months later, Thomson Reuters partnered with vendor OptionsCity Software to introduce functionality that allows energy and commodities traders to execute futures and options orders directly from the Eikon trading platform.
The Redi acquisition then can be viewed as the culmination of Thomson Reuters' efforts to optimize its offering for the buy side; clearly much forward planning and development has gone into this strategy.
One of the most interesting outcomes of the Redi acquisition is that it will put Thomson Reuters squarely in competition with Bloomberg's EMSX system, not to mention the other established vendors in the execution management space, such as Fidessa, Charles River, Portware and Eze Software, which all have significant product and client bases.
While Thomson Reuters may not see any immediate uptake from the buy side as a result of the Redi acquisition and it's more recent enhancements, it's more likely that over time results may become apparent from those already using the Eikon dashboard.
While Bloomberg has long been the leader in the EMS space, Thomson Reuters believes that by acquiring a respected provider like Redi, it might help gain new attention from the buy side, in addition to bringing on Redi's client base. The Eikon desktop already boasts sizeable user numbers; the addition of deeper, proven execution functionality and end-to-end trading across asset classes will surely be of much greater interest for asset managers scrutinizing their current execution capabilities.
My US colleagues Anthony Malakian and Dan DeFrancesco also discussed the Thomson Reuters and Redi deal in last week's podcast.
Side Notes
-
If you've been anywhere near social media, or even just own something as mundane as a pair of eyeballs, you'll know that this year's SIBOS conference is in full swing. I am not there this year, as I'd probably end up choking someone with a cuckoo clock after the first day's 37th speech on the future of payments, but my erstwhile Inside Reference Data colleague, Jo Wright is. Keep an eye out for some of her chocolate-scented dispatches from Geneva.
-
Donald Trump's comments on cyber security from Monday's Presidential debate. Just...what?!
-
John Oliver's take on the Wells Fargo fiasco. We may share a name, but he's far funnier than I can ever hope of being.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: https://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Emerging Technologies
Droit awarded patent, US CT plan shapes up, Chicago traders go to court, and more
The Waters Cooler: TNS expands 24x5 trading, SIX and Pictet complete a token pilot, and an Asic probe spells more trouble for ASX in this week’s news roundup.
GenAI too risky for collateral processes
The technology has been heralded as game-changing for other areas of finance, but its potential to hallucinate may disqualify it from sensitive settlement procedures.
Waters Wavelength Ep. 324: A philosophical conversation about AI
This week, Reb and Nyela discuss BNY’s digital workers, and what the use of AI in society signals for the future.
Cloud Wars: Are EU and APAC firms really pining for homegrown options?
Waters Wrap: In the wake of tariffs and regional instability, there’s chatter about non-US firms lessening their dependency on the major hyperscalers. Anthony is not buying it.
Google gifts Linux, capital raised for Canton, one less CTP bid, and more
The Waters Cooler: Banks team up for open-source AI controls, S&P injects GenAI into Capital IQ, and Goldman Sachs employees get their own AI assistant in this week’s news roundup.
Numerix strikes Hundsun deal as China pushes domestic tech
The homegrown tech initiative—‘Xinchuang’—is a new challenge for foreign vendors.
RBC’s partnership with GenAI vendor Cohere begins to bear fruit
The platform aims to help the Canadian bank achieve its lofty AI goals.
Deutsche Bank casts a cautious eye towards agentic AI
“An AI worker is something that is really buildable,” says innovation and AI head