EO, the UK-based online share distribution platform has entered a strategic alliance with Jiway to provide retail investors with joint access to European new equity issues.
The EO platform allows investment banks and issuers to distribute new issue products to retail distributors and their customers. Jiway, which is 60 per cent owned by OM, with Morgan Stanley holding the remaining 40 per cent of the company, provides a platform and service that can route secondary order trading flows relating to these new issues back to the issuing investment banks. Under the terms of the agreement, EO will provide new issue product to retail distributors while Jiway will enable retail participants to access these stocks in the secondary market in a cost efficient way.
The partnership will enable EO and Jiway to enhance their offerings to both global investment banks and to brokerage businesses. EO has distribution partnerships with a number of traditional and online brokers aggregating more than 1.5 million brokerage customers across Europe. These include Charles Schwab Europe and Barclays Stockbrokers and most recently Italy's largest online broker, Fineco and Swedish broker HQ.se. Jiway now has ten brokers from Germany, Sweden and the UK connected to its trading platform, with additional firms currently undertaking the implementation process.
Ian McNeil, chief operating officer of Jiway, comments: "EO and Jiway service the same target audiences, retail financial service providers and their clients, but from different directions. By agreeing to work together, we are harnessing the combined strengths of our organisations to ensure that the offerings of both firms are enhanced."