Over the past year, 360T has strategically developed its execution management system (EMS) to better serve FX clients, registering progress on several fronts.
A key milestone in the venue’s long-term strategy was achieved in September 2023, when Union Investment utilised its EMS platform to execute its first block futures trade. This aligned with the firm’s strategy of integrating access to both listed and over-the-counter (OTC) FX products within a single platform, providing streamlined and efficient trading options for users.
In line with its strategy of enhancing the platform’s analytical capabilities, 360T established a partnership with Virtu Financial. This integration allowed its EMS users to access advanced FX trading analytics and transaction cost analysis directly on the platform, leveraging data-driven insights to refine their trading strategies and optimize performance. By embedding Virtu’s analytical tools, the platform delivered added value to its users, offering them precise monitoring and optimization of their trading activities.
A meaningful advancement on the technological front was the introduction of the "split risk” workflow. This solution allowed EMS users to automate competition among multiple liquidity providers for forward points on benchmark orders. By enabling firms to net orders together and competitively bid on the forward risk before the fixing time, this system allowed traders to place orders with the winning provider, ensuring best execution not just for spot FX but for the entire all-in rate.
Another key technological development was the introduction of a "mixed givens" solution. Catering to buyside firms managing cross-currency portfolios, this feature automated pricing from counterparties while enabling full post-trade straight-through processing, addressing inefficiencies such as the need for clean-up trades.
The proprietary data feeds within 360T's EMS also received significant upgrades. Its Essential Data Feed (EDF) was revamped with a more sophisticated factor model, which ranks quotes based on price, volatility and quote spread. Moreover, the introduction in January 2024 of a spread factor has further refined the feed, tightening the aggregated mid-market price when there is strong pricing consensus among banks. These refinements enabled buyside firms to trade with greater precision while also powering automated trading strategies on the platform.
360T has also introduced access to additional non-bank liquidity for trading FX options through an innovative new credit solution. The EMS also now supports FX options with allocations to different funds, addressing a barrier that previously prevented many asset managers from trading these products electronically.
“The 360T EMS has been a key pillar of the company’s growth in recent years,” says Sebastian Hofmann-Werther, chief revenue officer.
“The platform offers advanced and highly customizable automation tools alongside unique market data feeds, and to this we’ve added innovative new workflow solutions, sophisticated analytics tools and the ability to trade listed FX alongside OTC.”