Discussing the FIX post-trade workflows with a senior operations technologist recently, he asked me “why FIX?”. It’s a great question; after all FIX has been around for 20 years!

FIX dominates the front office world of order and execution flow. From member access to exchanges, MTFs and dark pools, through to buy-side access to broker algorithms, it offers a technology foundation that has transformed the dealing desk. It’s impossible to imagine the front office without it now.

Building a new post-trade workflow model based on FIX is a natural direction of travel, particularly given that both asset managers and brokers have already invested in FIX across their businesses. In addition to this, the industry has proved that it can come together to provide a common standard upon which all market participants can build their workflow platforms. So, when looking at proposals to adopt the FIX post-trade model, operations teams can be assured that it is built on the firm foundations of industry co-operation and a well-thought-out business process.