11:47 AM
Certification Program for FIX Protocol Brewing--Again
The Global Fixed Income Committee is working on a certification program where buy and sell-side firms, as well as ECNs, can go to test the FIX protocol that is being developed for fixed-income securities, according to Daniel Doscas, chairman of the subcommittee who revealed this information at the kickoff meeting on Tuesday.
Doscas is finalizing a certification program and says he has chatted and met with potential vendors that have tools and suites "willing to avail themselves."
He will be looking for three to five vendors to create a place where FPL-member firms can go to test the application layer and the session layer they are developing based on the FIX protocol. "What we're trying to establish is a tool suite and whatever form that takes we want to provide the fixed-income industry and members of FPL (with a place) to go somewhere to test the protocol to make sure that it's verifiable and certifiable."
However, Doscas did not reveal the names of any vendors he was considering. "Obviously, that will leverage some of the work that was done a few years ag by Fix Protocol Limited, ( the parent organization), in the equities area. However that certification project did not materialize. One issue was who would fund the certification service and whether vendors would offer their services for free.
Doscas was not be involved in that initiative, but he notes that he will have to do his homework. He expects to submit his finding to the FPL Steering Committee in the March time frame, whose approval is necessary, he says. Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio