Merrill Lynch has become the first sell-side institution to send indications of interest and advertised trades via the new Thomson AutEx network using a single network connection and the FIX protocol.
Merrill's shift to the new network marks the beginning migration of all Thomson clients from the current AutEx IOI and AutEx TradeRoute systems to a global FIX-based system that integrates IOI, AT, order routing and allocation messaging.
The upgraded system offers new tools for faster trade analysis and negotiations, greater flexibility and more intelligent message validation, says the vendor. In addition, recaps for retrieving message data on specific securities are now available, with brokers viewing their own IOI messages and institutions viewing all messages.
The AutEx service handles nearly one million indications daily, enabling 300 brokers to advertise inventory to 500 participating institutions.