Schonfeld to Acquire ETG
The Schonfeld Group, a proprietary and retail trading firm, announced plans to purchase the independent professional trading firm Electronic Trading Group (ETG), thus expanding Schonfeld's trading force by adding approximately 125 proprietary traders and 200 retail traders. The deal is expected to close at the end of October.
Andrew Fishman, president, Schonfeld Group, says, "For the most part, we will migrate the new traders to our platform." He adds that there may be cases in which traders will continue using the direct access platforms they were using previously - such as Goldman Sachs' REDIPlus, Banc of America's ETG and Instinet's Instiquote. "However, all will clear through us," Fishman notes.
One of Schonfeld's priorities is to develop a next-generation proprietary system for ETG's traders. The firm already supports its traders with several different trading platforms, including Schonex and T-REX. However, the new system will combine the strengths of each of the existing platforms. For example, the Schonex system is used by traders who are primarily concerned with speed, Fishman says. T-REX is for institutional portfolio management and more-sophisticated order types.
The new product will combine speed with more-sophisticated functionality to give it an institutional flavor, Fishman notes.
Schonfeld has made several other acquisitions, including retail firms Broadway and Heartland, and the assets of broker-dealer and technology company Trinix Securities. The firm is watching for new acquisitions. "If it's a good fit, we'll talk," says Fishman. "We're looking out for the best interest of the trader."
On The Net
Tweet This