Sell-Side Technology Awards 2013: Best Sell-Side Automated Trading Platform ─ FlexTrade

Where FlexTrade's flagship trading platform really distinguishes itself, though, is in its multi-asset and cross-asset capabilities. The Long Island-based company takes the "flex" part of its name seriously-a September 2012 certification under the BGC Partners Preferred Vendor Program, allowing it to trade US Treasuries, added fixed income to a list of tradable asset classes that already included equities, foreign exchange (FX), equity options, and futures.

It is in FlexOPT, the options trading tool within FlexTrader, where the vendor has seen the most interest of late. A risk management upgrade enables traders to analyze risk by portfolios, sectors, traders, and accounts. Stress-testing and order-driven market-making capabilities also got a facelift.

"It can ‘slice and dice' portfolios by underlying, expiration, account, and so on, and compute in real-time volatility surfaces for risk and stress analysis," says president and CEO, Vijay Kedia. "The order-driven market-making functionality was developed for advanced options traders and provides a comprehensive user interface to configure order strategies. Positions can be grouped and viewed at various levels, and a hierarchy of risk limits ensures that the trader can manage risk in real time. The platform also provides the ability to load option chains based on underlying symbol, expiry date and strike price, as well as pre-load positions from the prior day."

The June acquisition of options software provider Derivix bolstered FlexOPT's portfolio risk management, scenario analysis, and execution management functions.

Kedia is also particularly proud of FlexTrader's predictive analytics solution for US equities, FlexEdge, and of its smart order routing technology. FlexEdge provides short-term return forecasts across overnight and intra-day time horizons, as well as intra-day volume forecasts that it calls a substantial improvement over traditional volume estimation techniques. Its smart order routers can be programmed in aggressiveness based on the liquidity of a name.

It is in FlexOPT, the options trading tool within FlexTrader, where the vendor has seen the most interest of late. A risk management upgrade enables traders to analyze risk by portfolios, sectors, traders, and accounts. Stress-testing and order-driven market-making capabilities also got a facelift.

FLEXTRADE REACTION

"Winning this award is particularly satisfying for its sell-side focus. It's a validation of our long-standing commitment to provide our clients with the latest and very best in EMS and OMS technology, in terms of development and functionality."

Vijay Kedia, president and CEO, FlexTrade