Via TNS' proprietary network, Wood & Co will have access to the Warsaw Stock Exchange and it will also link to institutional investor clients domiciled in Eastern Europe and internationally.

Wood & Co advises domestic and international customers on investment strategies in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Established in 1991, the firm has offices in Prague and Bratislava, Slovakia.

Already among the Prague Stock Exchange's most active brokerages, the firm is also a member of similar institutions in Vienna, Warsaw, Frankfurt and Budapest.

Andrea Ferancova, Wood & Co's partner and director of equities, said: "As the Czech Republic's first brokerage firm, we have attracted a new type of investor who likes the fundamentals of our region but prefers straight-through-proccessing of their trading orders.

"Companies in the former Eastern bloc have identified the need to raise capital and engage with the international financial community. Electronic trading increases liquidity and enables easy access to emerging Central and Eastern European markets.

"Enlisting TNS' Secure Trading Extranet will cement our position as one of the leading brokerages in Central Europe and our value as a gateway to the region's markets."

TNS' Secure Trading Extranet now connects over 1,000 financial community end-points, representing more than 450 buy and sell-side institutions, market data and software vendors, exchanges and alternative trading venues.

Alex Walker, vice president, TNS Financial Markets (International) said: "The maturing of CEE markets has created demand for international trading connectivity and the ability to trade in the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol.

"The Secure Trading Extranet is known to provide best-in-class speed, reliability and security, as well as connecting one of the world's largest financial communities of interest.

"This deal also means participants on the TNS network will have access to one of Central and Eastern Europe's leading brokerages."

By using TNS' Secure Trading Extranet, financial institutions can submit a variety of trade-related messages, including indications of interest, order routing and executions. It also enables them to perform other FIX and non-FIX transactions.

On-net institutions can be connected to each other within three days. Security is paramount, with high-value transactions protected using access validation, end-to-end encryption and secure points-of-presence.