French brokerage firm Fimat, a Société Générale subsidiary, is providing its European clients with remote access to all the major equity option markets in the US via the CBOEdirect HyTS system from Belzberg Technologies.
Fimat claims to be the first broker outside the US to obtain remote access electronically to the CBOE, ISE, Pacific, Philadelphia and Amex exchanges. This may be disputed by US brokers who already offer electronic linkages from their overseas desks. JP Morgan, for instance, uses technology developed by First Traders Analytical Solutions, the provider of the front end for the Amex, to route orders from overseas.
At Fimat, the Belzberg order routing system shows national best bids and offers on equity options quoted on all five exchanges and automatically routes trades to the best bid/offer where an option is quoted on more than one exchange.
Fimat says its UK clients will access these exchanges from screens at its London office. Simon Mead, head of equity products, Fimat UK, says the system will provide European clients with fast, transparent and competitive access to these markets against the existing electronic markets within Europe.
"It will also help the brokers in London and New York to facilitate client demand for efficient US/European equity option arbitrage, where quick and accurate entry and exit prices are vital," adds Mead.