Three Partners Join Hands to Build FX Matching System
NexTrade, GlobalNet Financial.com and Valhalla Forex have teamed up to launch Matchbook FX–an Internet-deliverable, continuous matching system covering spot foreign exchange (FX) products. NexTrade, an electronic communications network, is mainly providing the matching technology for the new system. Valhalla, a New York City-based FX trading firm, is currently acting as an introducing broker for Matchbook. GlobalNet, on the other hand, plans to interface Matchbook with its worldwide stable of financial news and information Web sites.
Matchbook, which was rolled out at the end of July, is the flagship product of Matchbook FX LLC, an entity the partners set up to run the FX matching system. Thus far, roughly 20 clients of Valhalla–including hedge funds, small banks and retail investors–have signed up to use Matchbook. The owners of the system, in an attempt to inject even more liquidity into Matchbook, are also offering compensation packages to introducing brokers that persuade their clients to use the platform.
"We are sharing trade commissions with those brokers," says Mark Smith, director of strategic relations at NexTrade and director of operations at Matchbook. Though Smith says that Matchbook is available to "anyone who wants to download the system," the matching platform appears to be primarily targeted at retail FX traders.
Just like NexTrade’s ECN, Matchbook does not charge investors who put order flow into the system. Rather, it only charges investors who take liquidity out of the system, either by hitting a bid or taking an offer.
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