The new business will leverage Tora's portfolio of products including TORA Compass, a best-in-class EMS/OMS with straight through processing, TORA Alpha, a suite of algorithmic trading strategies and TORA Clearpool, a proprietary electronic OTC marketplace to provide off-exchange liquidity. Tora will be able to deliver to clients the most advanced technology and trading solutions available to achieve best execution.

The liquidity services business will be led by two veteran industry professionals, Rob Santos and Khahlil Kirtman, who bring extensive Asia-focused trading experience to this new initiative. Rob Santos will focus on the pan-Asian markets, while Khahlil Kirtman will focus on the Japanese markets to provide clients complete execution coverage for the Asia Pacific region. The team will leverage Tora's market-leading trading technology and unique liquidity offering to deliver a solution focused on best execution.

"Both Rob Santos and Khahlil Kirtman are highly experienced trading professionals whose deep Asia expertise and client relationships will greatly complement our existing business. With the addition of this team to our current trading operations, we will be able to expand our footprint and better serve both long-only and hedge fund clients," said Robert Dykes, Tora's CEO. "Rob's experience in pan-Asian markets combined with Khahlil's knowledge of Japan is a perfect combination to assist clients no matter which markets they trade. I look forward to working with the team as we continue to grow our liquidity services group."

Rob Santos joins Tora after spending 14 years focused on the pan-Asian region within the financial services industry. Rob served as Executive Director at Morgan Stanley where he was Head of Sales Trading for Non Japan Asia Equity. Rob brings with him not only a deep understanding of the Asian markets, but also extensive relationships throughout the region.

Khahlil Kirtman joins Tora after spending nding 10 years in the financial services industry focused exclusively on Japan. Most recently Khahlil was with Goldman Sachs as Head of the International Sales Trading Desk. Prior to his time at Goldman, Khahlil worked at Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi completing debt underwriting offerings for Japanese companies.

"I am thrilled at the opportunity to work with buy-side firms throughout Asia, using a technology-driven solution to provide market intelligence and capture best execution," said Rob Santos. "Tora's product arsenal will allow me to provide the highest level of service to clients in the region."

"I am delighted to partner with Rob Santos to launch this new Tora service," said Khahlil Kirtman. "We strongly believe that the combination of our individual experiences and Tora's Asia-centric liquidity and trading platform allows us to deliver a solution focused on best execution to buy-side firms across Asia."